Heat
by starah
Summary: Naruto has a problem. A very big problem. NaruHina, with touches of SasuSaku.
1. Desire

It was happening again.  
  
Naruto hated it when it happened. When he was younger he didn't mind because he hadn't been aware of what the feelings were. But now that he was sixteen... well, things were definitely not the same as before.  
  
He absolutely hated it now.  
  
Whenever it happened, Naruto made sure as hell that he was away from any human being. He had found a secluded area of rock within the forests surrounding the Leaf village, so when it started, Naruto ran off to that area as fast as he could.  
  
So when Naruto opened his eyes one sunny morning, and white light filtered through his curtains to infiltrate his eyelids, he woke up with a start and groan of annoyance. It was that time again.  
  
The time when Nine-Tails became... well, excited. For a mate.  
  
Naruto had been planning to see Hinata today. He was starting to take quite an attraction to her that he couldn't describe. It wasn't lilke his friendship with Sasuke or Sakura. He just liked going to see her, and he loved talking to her as she either made medicine, tended to her plants or simply walked around the village with him. He was really starting to love the way her eyes would brighten when she saw him and the way her cheeks turned to just that shade of pink... but he wasn't going to able to see her today.  
  
Damn Nine-Tails.  
  
***Are you going to deny me again?***  
  
The voice within Naruto's head did not startle him. He was used to Nine-Tails grating at him whenever he was filled with the intention to return to the secluded area, where Nine-Tails could really do nothing but whine.  
  
'Yeah,'  
  
He thought off-handedly as he poured himself some milk,  
  
'Don't hate me for it.'  
  
***... Foolish boy. You are only increasing my need three-fold every time to walk away from it.***  
  
'But what the hell do you expect me to do, go find a female demon-fox for you?! Get a grip.'  
  
***You are truly foolish. You cannot hide it from me, boy.***  
  
Naruto licked his lips nervously.  
  
'Hide what?'  
  
***Boy, you are not only denying the demon within you, but you are denying yourself. You have already realised this. That is why you hide, isn't it?***  
  
His eyes widened as his hormones began to stir wildly inside him.  
  
'Stop it!!'  
  
***I'm just getting a little excited. Why sound so urgent?***  
  
'SHUT UP!!'  
  
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, forcing the voice out of his head for the moment. Nine-Tails relented, and exited his mind. Naruto took long, deep breaths, calming himself down only half-successfully.  
  
It was completely true, though. He had to run away from all humans because of what Nine-Tails did to him whenever the time came.  
  
He would never forget the look on Sakura's face at the sight of his expression on her when Nine-Tails had suddenly gotten turned on. Sasuke had yelled at him angrily for scaring her like that. He hadn't meant to -- the Nine-Tails in him had somehow managed to leak into him, enforcing the feelings he was trying so hard to reject.  
  
Neither of them knew about the demon-fox yet, so Naruto took it into his mind to keep it that way. He didn't want to change the way things were now. He had managed to gain back Sakura and Sasuke's trust by apologising profusely - but he now totally avoided all girls, at least, at all costs when the time came. When with Sakura, he had bound away at that time to his secluded area, but he didn't want to risk anything like that ever again.  
  
That was when he had discovered that Nine-Tails didn't really require a 'female demon-fox' at all. He didn't need telling -- he just *knew* by the way things went whenever Nine-Tails got excited. As long as Nine-Tails could perform -- 'it' -- through the body he was in, it was enough to satisfy him. Naruto had no intention of letting Nine-Tails get that pleasure through *his* body, which was why he ran off whenever the time came.  
  
He couldn't drink his milk. Nine-Tails was taking control; his senses increased in sensitivity whenever the time developed into stage two. He could tell because his nose could smell the thick creaminess of the milk before him. He could also tell because the feelings were going haywire again -- he had to get to that stupid spot before anyone came in to see how he was doing.  
  
Standing up, he found his eyes a funny haze. Yep, Nine-Tails was going nuts again -- and was threatening to spill out. He could let Nine-Tails spill out maybe while he was in that spot, but definitely not here in his home. Not while it was fully possible for anyone to enter and see him in such a frightening state. The feelings centered and shrouded his head in a heavy mist of desperate lust.  
  
'Oh crap.'  
  
He shook his head in a futile attempt to clear it, and walked over to his door with difficulty. The urges he had now were incredibly powerful - stage three of the process.  
  
'Damn. I should've walked to the forest as soon as I woke up. Why did I pour myself milk? Why?'  
  
He set a hand on the handle of his door -- then started as he heard all too clearly the sound of someone rapping his or her knuckles on the door.  
  
"H-hello? Naruto-kun?"  
  
'Oh. Shit.'  
  
Naruto was torn between the joy of Hinata coming over to see him and the pain and disbelief at the bad timing.  
  
"I-- I brought some breakfast. I thought we could... uhm... sh-share it this morning..."  
  
Though he hated himself for doing it, he had no choice. Slowly dragging himself backwards away from the door, his eyes darted about for the back door. Something deep and wild rushed through his head, obscuring his view with a thick, foggy sheen. Then he met sudden contact with something, knocking it over and crashing into something else. Something ceramic clattered and spun on the floor, ringing too high for comfort in his sensitive ears.  
  
Managing to clear his head from the fall, Naruto opened his eyes slowly and saw the chair and table he had knocked into so close to his face he could see the grainy surfaces, and a glance to the left showed an upturned cup, the white creamy stuff pooled all over the floor. His cheek was cemented to the floor, and as Naruto unstuck his face from it, his mind plunged into desperate need again. He tried to get up, straining every muscle in him to listen so they could reach the back door.  
  
His skin pricked and sent a shock down his spine when a warmth met the crook of his elbow, attempting to assist him up. Warm and soft. It was Hinata helping him up.  
  
'No--way!! She can't--see me-- like-- this--!!'  
  
"Naruto-kun, are you okay?! You didn't answer me, and I got worried--"  
  
Her touch on his bare skin shot through him like an indescribable icy fire, and it took all of Naruto's willpower to shove Hinata's hand off his arm. Her eyes grew wide, startled, and settled a concerned and surprised gaze upon him. Avoiding eye contact, Naruto edged away from her with great difficulty, managing to lean against his table. He shut his eyes tightly, breathing heavily through clenched teeth, clutching his shirt with his fingers in a grip that turned his knuckles white.  
  
"Naruto-kun....?"  
  
She sounded so hurt! Pain ached through Naruto's chest. However, the lustful desire coursing through his veins and pumping at his head rendered him unable to speak properly without triggering something in himself.  
  
"Hi--Hinata. Go away."  
  
She furrowed her brow.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Go away."  
  
She opened her mouth to speak, but he let out a low growl before barking,  
  
"PLEASE!!"  
  
She stared at him, worry flooding through her. Naruto's breathing was growing more laboured by the minute. Then Nine-Tails growled in his mind.  
  
***It's her... the girl you always see.***  
  
'Don't make me do anything to her, you bastard! Calm down. Heel.'  
  
***With a possible outlet of my desire this close? I'm not that stupid, kid.***  
  
Naruto's eyes snapped open in shock, and he pressed himself against the table in fear.  
  
'You wouldn't.'  
  
***How do humans do it? If you don't know how then I'm doing it myself.***  
  
Lust thrust through him and Naruto gasped, his fingers clawing at the floor and leaving deeply engraved marks. Hinata watched this all nervously, wanting to help Naruto but unsure of how to.  
  
***Geez, you've got some resolve to not go near this girl. Hell, she's a young woman, not a girl. Let me at her.***  
  
"STOP IT!!"  
  
Naruto let out in an animal-like cry, but to his horror, his body moved towards Hinata. She stared as he slammed himself against the floor, winding himself, but refusing to get up.  
  
"Please, Naruto-kun... let me help you. There's something wrong, I know there is."  
  
***She smells nice, boy. Stop torturing me and you and let me do this.***  
  
'You dumbass fox!! Don't you dare touch her.'  
  
Now where had that come from? However, Naruto could smell the scent that wafted to his nose from Hinata. She smelt a little like blueberries. It overwhelmed him in a tide of bodily longing, but he still had some of his own mind left -- enough to control himself. However, he knew he was losing control rapidly at the moment. She needed to leave. Now. He opened his mouth, and barely managed to choke it out.  
  
"Leave."  
  
"Naruto-kun..."  
  
"Hinata... leave."  
  
Control was slipping away. Naruto felt his body slowly start to listen to the more lustful longings of his mind, and he let out a low animal-like whimper before whispering, in a pleading tone,  
  
"Please, Hinata.... leave."  
  
Her expression softened, and she reached a hand out.  
  
'No Hinata!! Don't touch me!!'  
  
Her fingertips softly brushed against his cheek. 


	2. Raw

"What's wrong Naruto-kun?"  
  
She murmured softly.  
  
'Oh God,'  
  
Naruto screamed in his head,  
  
'Help me!!'  
  
Her fingertips traced the rim of his ear, and she leaned slightly over.  
  
"Naruto-kun?"  
  
His sensitive skin tingled, and he shuddered violently. He bit his lip, hard -- he had nearly lost what little control he had left with that shudder.  
  
"Are-- Are you sick? Should I call for Ka--"  
  
She began, her voice etched with worry, but Naruto practically yelled,  
  
"NO!!"  
  
Hinata shut up, her eyes rounding with surprise. Then they saddened, and her eyes cast to the floor, her posture slumping slightly.  
  
"I know you've always been alone,"  
  
She said softly, her eyes hidden from Naruto,  
  
"But... you should know that sometimes, you need to ask for help."  
  
She took her hands to his face, her fingertips tracing his whisker birthmarks, and without realising made agonising trails of lust with just her light touch. Naruto wanted to smash his face into the floor and crush the soft sense of her fingers away, but his lust flared, and instead, his chin tilted slightly forward so he could smell her scent better.  
  
Hinata furrowed her brow in worry. Naruto was feeling extremely... warm. Worried he might have a fever, she slid a cool palm onto his forehead, the other around his neck. Her eyes widened in shock.  
  
She leaned downwards, her milk-white eyes full of concern, and Naruto's eyes settled on her lips. She had very full lips. Did she know that?  
  
'No! Stop it Naruto, you're losing! Keep yourself in control, in control--'  
  
"You're burning!"  
  
She gasped, her warm breath gentle against his cheek. Her tongue quickly darted in and out as a motion to wet her lips - a nervous reaction. Naruto found himself aching with desire. Control was being lifted from himself - he could almost feel raw physical lust rapidly engulfing him in a tide.  
  
As her hands slipped around his neck, she leaned closer still, wanting to see his face properly. He could feel her fingertips pressing just behind his ears. His eyes were set on her full, wet lips. Hunger clawed at him, and he weakly told it go away.  
  
"Naruto-kun?"  
  
She breathed.  
  
That was it. He could take no more. Control took flight and desire burst out and rushed through his veins, and before Hinata could say a word he slammed her back flat against the ground, winding her, his hands at her wrists with claw-like grips.  
  
Her eyes were wide with shock, and she let out a gasp when she felt him straddle her. His skin was hot... so very hot. She looked at his face uncertainly, and saw that his whisker-like birthmarks were darker and longer than usual, his eyes looking bright and wild. His eyes were almost fiery - she had never seen his eyes like that before... The passion she saw was unfamiliar to her.  
  
He seemed to be savouring something as he pressed himself onto her, and was almost purring in pleasure as he rubbed himself against her curves, then paused before growling in annoyance.  
  
"Naruto-kun?!!"  
  
Hinata gasped, having found her breath back, but was interrupted by his mouth, his tongue flicking on her lips before pushing in, roughly kissing her deeply and hungrily. The wildness scared her. Naruto was a wild guy, but in relationships he was actually extremely shy. This wasn't like him at all.  
  
She tried to break his kisses off to no avail. Then her eyes widened, and a warning bell in her head rang loudly when she felt a hand trail away from her wrist, his right hand gripping both of her wrists in a painful vice and the left start to paw at her clothes.  
  
There was something very, very wrong. It was as if he was trying to...  
  
She shook herself inwardly. Naruto-kun would never do that, she told herself, but her thoughts were cut off by the sound of fabric ripping.  
  
Hinata always wore a thick jumper over her clothes. She didn't know why, but it gave her a small sense of protection against exposure. Exposure of her weaknesses. And here Naruto had just torn off a line of defense with incredible strength. And was tossing it aside. And appeared to be ready to tear off more clothes.  
  
A cold fear seeped through her when he gave a small laugh of unrefined desire against her lips. She blinked furiously, trying to say something, anything, but his mouth was unallowing. Hinata realised she was crying when she felt a tear slip past her ear.  
  
He was trying to rape her.  
  
She found herself struggling. Especially when she felt his fingers touch the bare and sensitive skin of her stomach. Finally, she managed to tear her lips away from his, and her eyes met eyes that were crazed with bodily hunger.  
  
He saw her full lips blushing red from his kissing, her eyes full of confusion, the trails of her tears on her cheeks. Naruto wasn't there to stop himself lean over and lick a tear off her cheek - slowly. His hands travelling up from her stomach. Hinata turned her face, her eyes filling with fresh tears of fear and confusion. The fear and confusion rose up her throat, and without even meaning to, she let out a scream.  
  
He ignored it, his tongue finding its way to the edge of her mouth, salty from her tears, when the door to Naruto's home burst open, the door banging against the wall.  
  
Hinata and Naruto looked up towards the spilling light from the door to see two silhouettes against the bright white light. A hint of long pink hair and dark hair was all they could make out. Both of them were breathing a heavily from running.  
  
Their eyes saw Naruto pressing himself onto Hinata. Hinata's ripped clothes at the side. Naruto's grip on Hinata's wrists. Their ragged breathing. Hinata's tear-streaked face.  
  
Before Naruto could react, he was swiftly kicked off Hinata, and skid across the floor before he rolled to his feet. Sasuke drew himself back from fighting stance, but his eyes were dark with anger, and held the same tone of horror Sakura had in her eyes. Disbelieving horror.  
  
Sakura bent down to Hinata, helping her to sit up as she cast Naruto an incredulous glance. Naruto was on his feet, and he was glowering at Sasuke. Sasuke looked completely disgusted.  
  
There was a long silence as Naruto wiped his chin, his eyes hardening as he glared at the intruders - one standing defiantly against him, the second trying to console his prey.  
  
Sasuke bit his lip and felt a jolt of alarm through him when he notcied Naruto didn't look like himself. Just like that day when Naruto had saved him back in the jungle, on this time, Naruto's whole demeanor appeared different. He seemed to be angry, but with an unexposed rage that was as crude.  
  
Somewhat like a wild animal.  
  
Hinata suddenly choked out a sob. She found she couldn't stop. She began to cry, clutching onto Sakura as hot tears spilled past her cheeks.  
  
Naruto's eyes flickered to her, and stared at her shock and confusion. She refused to look at anything else other than Sakura's pink shirt. Sakura comfortingly put an arm around Hinata, and glared at Naruto.  
  
Naruto took a step towards Hinata, but she cringed and shrank away from him. He froze in step.  
  
"You bastard. What the hell were you--"  
  
Sasuke growled, when Naruto turned his head quickly. All of them - Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke - all caught his eyes.  
  
Raw pain.  
  
Without any warning, he bounded past the three and ran out of the door, onto the grass and off the pathway towards the forest.  
  
Hinata found her eyes filling with more tears, and Sakura patted her head as reassuringly as she could as the girl began to sob uncontrollably.  
  
As Naruto's door creaked from the wind, Sasuke and Sakura exchanged glances of worry and concern. 


	3. Lost

Sakura took a deep breath, and forced the corners of her mouth up to a plastic smile before she emerged behind Hinata. The girl jumped at the sound of her footsteps, and whirled around, her white eyes widening in alarm - only to see Sakura smiling and holding a mug, walking towards her. Hinata knew the smile was absolutely fake, but she appreciated Sakura's gesture all the same as she accepted the mug of warm tea.  
  
Hands cupping around the ceramic, she took her swollen lips to the edge of the mug and took a sip of the warmth.  
  
Naruto had been warm, too.  
  
Finding it difficult to swallow, Hinata grimaced and forced the drink down. Then she started to cough. Her pink-haired companion gently patted her back, her smile unglued now and looking genuinely concerned.  
  
"Hinata?"  
  
"I'm okay,"  
  
She mumbled, and set the mug to her lap. Her eyes unwillingly filled again, and she turned her head away from Sakura. Taking the hint, Sakura stood up, giving the dark-haired girl a soothing rub on the shoulder before turning and walking away to leave her alone.  
  
Hinata waited till Sakura's presence could no longer be felt before she set the mug onto the bench aside her and pulled down the cuffs of her sleeves. Her wrists, where Naruto had gripped them, were still blotched white and red in finger-shaped marks.  
  
What had happened? Hinata wondered. She knew all guys had 'urges', but they would never enforce themselves onto another girl that way - especially not Naruto. Remembering his painful grip, his violent kisses and invading tongue, his lustful gaze with his purs and growls, his hot skin pressing onto her pale skin - Hinata felt her stomach churn, and clamped a hand over her mouth, trying to keep from vomiting.  
  
It wasn't that she wasn't aware of sex. But the fact was that they were both still in shy stages in their relationship - especially Hinata. Hinata knew Naruto would never do anything he'd be afraid of hurting her with. She knew it. Yet he had still-- his hungry eyes, his burning desire still lingering on her lips -- Hinata felt the urge to hurl again.  
  
She tried to picture Naruto as she knew him. His sky-blue eyes, a mischievous smile he had never been able to rid himself of, soft lines sketched across his cheeks, and an indescribable warmth overflowing as he smiled and offered to water her plants or find medicinal roots for her. She mouth curved to just the tiniest smile at the sweet memories.  
  
Suddenly, his blue eyes narrowed and flashed in fearful and physical passion, his mouth twisting to a disturbingly delighted smile, and his hands groping at her clothes to press his heat against her skin -- Hinata's eyes widened before she stood up, stumbling as she did so, the mug knocked off the bench causing tea to splatter onto the dirt path before she turned to the long grass behind the bench.  
  
Dropping hard onto her knees, Hinata felt the burning fluid in her throat rise before she began to vomit violently into the grass. Hot tears and fluid scalded her throat as she choked out her confusion and fear. She hated herself for fearing him. She hated herself for feeling so uncertain and so insecure. And because of the fact the boy she had brought herself to love had betrayed her affection in such a way, she hated herself for losing trust in him. Her hatred built and her eyes and throat filled again.  
  
Behind her, the ceramic mug seemed intact save for the handle. The smooth, glazed curve appeared to have a small crack with so many fine lines splintering out in so many different directions it was impossible to count how many.  
  
  
  
  
  
Sakura found Sasuke standing near the training area. She walked towards him, and made sure to approach in a way he wouldn't get startled and stab her with fifteen kunais. However, as she drew closer, Sasuke said monotonously,  
  
"You don't need to be so careful. I know it's you anyhow."  
  
"Oh... I'm sorry."  
  
"Why are you apologising?"  
  
He said, sounding absent-minded. Sakura stopped a step behind his back. She didn't want to see the one of the strongest people she admired the most have the same expression she currently had on.  
  
"...Hinata said he had a fever,"  
  
Sakura said, her voice quiet and hesitant,  
  
"Said he was burning before he... you know. Maybe he--"  
  
"He wasn't delirious,"  
  
Sasuke interrupted,  
  
"He didn't look delirious. Delirious people don't go around trying to rape people, Sakura."  
  
His words make her wince visibly.  
  
"I wasn't implying that."  
  
She said softly, but her voice was deflated somewhat.  
  
"Well, what were you saying then?"  
  
"I meant... I mean, I didn't really..."  
  
She faltered, and decided to stop trying to fool Sasuke - and herself.  
  
"I was just trying to think of a reason Naruto would do that. For goodness' sake, Sasuke-kun, this is Naruto we're talking about. We know how much he likes Hinata."  
  
"But do we really know him?"  
  
Sasuke muttered. Sakura blinked in surprise at the disturbed tone Sasuke's voice held.  
  
"You saw his eyes, right? It was like that day. That day he was stronger than he usually was back in the test. And that time he gave you that-- that look."  
  
She shuddered at the memory.  
  
"It... it was like that time..."  
  
She said softly,  
  
"But he didn't do anything--"  
  
"He ran away today, just like that time. Sakura, we don't know the dumbass ninja as well as we think we do. He's hiding something..."  
  
There was a silence as he seemed to realise he was revealing too much.  
  
"...I think I know enough of Naruto to know he would never rape anyone."  
  
Sakura retorted boldly. Sasuke remained silent as she continued,  
  
"There has to be a reason for everything. Hinata said his body temperature seemed abnormal."  
  
He still remained silent. Sakura closed the gap to stand beside her friend, and turned to look at him in the eye.  
  
"There's a reason. I'm sure of it."  
  
She said resolutely. Sasuke's eyes were darker than usual, his thoughts and emotions undefinable under many layers of ice. But Sakura had broken the ice before. She grabbed his hand, surprising him, and folding her fingers over his reassuringly.  
  
"I know what you're feeling."  
  
She said softly. He stiffened, but she went on anyway.  
  
"You're shocked, aren't you, Sasuke-kun? Because you respect Naruto. Not just his ninja-skills, but his strength and determination."  
  
She took his other hand, and saw her own green eyes reflected back at her through his dark ones. She took a shaky breath, before carrying on.  
  
"It scared you to see him doing something like that, didn't it? I know because... it scared me too."  
  
Without meaning to, he bit his lip. Sakura's eyes rounded in concern.  
  
"Sasuke-kun?"  
  
He didn't reply.  
  
Instead, he took her hands away from his and gently pulled her into a hug, embracing her waist to press his cheek against her pale-pink hair.  
  
Under normal circumstances, Sakura would have blushed, perhaps Inner-Sakura cheering in her head loudly. After all, Sasuke rarely showed affection for her. But today, even Inner-Sakura was silent, and she could sense from Sasuke a great need of reassurance; a need for something that wouldn't change so suddenly. She had never felt Sasuke have a need for that before.  
  
Bringing her arms to encircle his torso, Sakura let him hold her tightly as he took in her sweet scent and warmth and comfortable familiarity.  
  
Feeling deep down just as stunned and hurt.  
  
  
  
  
  
The demon had been whirled from intense heat and pleasure to sudden chaos, unable to return to his cage or the boy's conciousness as he was ruthlessly shoved to the very back corners of the boy's mind before he was thrust back to the boy's eyes.  
  
He was not pleased to see, when given back charge of the vessel that carried him, that the boy had escaped to the secluded area once more, completely surrounded by rock and trees.  
  
What was worse, the body was frozen to him, so he couldn't move a muscle. Not even stir the boy's hormones.  
  
***Damn it! We were so close.***  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
***...Boy?***  
  
There was no reply. Nine-Tails was not amused.  
  
***Boy, answer me.***  
  
When there was none, Nine-Tails growled, and turned back to the sub-concious chasm deep within the boy, returning to his prison within cold walls.  
  
Which was strange. The boy had such a vibrant character the walls were usually annoyingly warm. Looking through the bars, Nine-Tails could see the bright walls were now dark and dull, long shadows casting onto the dank water flooding below.  
  
Shifting a little and pressing his snout against the bars, Nine-Tails sniffed. He could smell the boy somewhere, but he was very, very faint.  
  
***You are such a weakling, I don't know why I was sealed inside a boy like you.***  
  
Nine-Tails snarled before slashing against the bars, thrashing wildly and spattering water against the walls of his dark prison. But the seal remained stuck - fast. Panting and growling angrily, Nine-Tails wondered why he couldn't get out with the seal so weak within.  
  
Then the demon saw a sliver of of the boy slumped against the farthest wall.  
  
His eyes were colourless, his body almost translucent and grey in colour. Water dripped off his pale-blond strands. His face held no expression, but Nine-Tails could see the boy suffocating himself with a thick blanket of disguised pain. He was suffering so badly he had lost himself within the confines of his own mind.  
  
Yet his pain built a strong wall between Nine-Tails and himself. It was so strong, Nine-Tails could not escape from it. The demon let out a tremendous roar that rattled the bars and rippled the water below into current, but nothing affected Naruto in the least. On the contrary, Nine-Tails found that the boy had sunk deeper into his stupor. Irked, the demon returned back to the vision of the world through Naruto's eyes.  
  
He was no less excited than before, but yet, the demon felt his anger slowly ebb away. The boy was stronger than he had expected. Rather than grow weaker, the boy had strangely enough grown stronger. That was interestingly new. And if the boy could just now break out of whatever he was spaced out with, Nine-Tails just might consider him a little differently.  
  
But for now, it was no satisfaction and complete disarray of sexual desire as he stared at rocks.  
  
***Damn.***  
  
  
  
  
  
  
((A/N:: Ano... ;; I'm really surprised on the responses on this fic... O_O I'm awful at writing this shtuff... this is my first time publishing something like this.... so forgive me. ^^;;)) 


	4. Search

When Hinata opened her eyes and found herself curled up on dirt, she hurriedly sat up, trying amidst her confusion to recall what had previously happened. The sun was starting to lower itself, and sky was just tingeing on orange.  
  
As she rubbed grit out of her eyes that had blown in from the wind, her memory rushed back with painful detail. She felt her stomach lurch, but she contained herself as she got to her feet.  
  
Hearing footfalls behind her, Hinata spun on her heel with her eyes starting to strain - only to see Sakura and Sasuke walking towards her. They exchanged glances; Hinata's response had been extremely edgy for simple footsteps that were not even attempted to be concealed.  
  
"Hinata,"  
  
Sakura said quietly,  
  
"We didn't tell anyone... yet. It might cause too much trouble, you know... so we're going to go find Naruto first."  
  
Hinata looked at them, her eyes unreadable as she thought deeply. Then she gave a slow nod.  
  
"You don't have to keep silent if you don't want to."  
  
Sasuke said, and Hinata was surprised to hear him speak so softly. Sakura nodded in agreement next to him, and the two waited for Hinata's answer.  
  
What had happened was definitely something to be reported, but Hinata felt there was something else. Something else was so wrong, it didn't even amount to her trauma. Hinata couldn't figure it out, and she wasn't sure she was supposed to. But...  
  
She truly wanted to know Naruto better. The hidden pain and suffering had lashed out in the last look she had had at him, and she hadn't been able to forget it despite her own pain. Naruto was someone who she had never been able to really figure out, but this was too much for anyone to try to figure out. Naruto would never rape her. She didn't just believe it, she *knew* it.  
  
Having made up her mind, Hinata lifted her chin up and looked at Sasuke in the eyes.  
  
"I'll go with you."  
  
He raised an eyebrow in mild surprise as Sakura's surprise was expressed less mildly with a dropped jaw.  
  
"Hinata, you're-- you're not really in the condition--"  
  
Sakura started to splutter, but Sasuke interrupted,  
  
"Fine."  
  
He started to walk along the path again, past Hinata, and Sakura hastily followed.  
  
"'Fine'?!"  
  
She hissed.  
  
"She has a right to choose."  
  
Sasuke answered, and then proceeded to give her a look that clearly said, 'you go figure'. She shut up.  
  
Hinata walked behind, her eyes downcast again as she fell back into her chasm of thought, and continued to walk distractedly into the forest area.  
  
  
  
  
  
Nine-Tails kept his eyes on a certain spot amongst the foliage.  
  
It had been some time since the demon-fox had discovered the strangely ruffled-looking patch of leaves amongst his surroundings. The boy had obviously been so troubled and in such a rushed panic that he had neglected his stealth. Nine-Tails could envision very, very obvious clues marking the trail of the boy.  
  
He had enjoyed the girl while it had lasted, even though he hadn't been able to completely satisfy himself, but now his desire had dissipated. Nine-Tails had expected the boy to release his frozen position once his mind had cleared of all sexual intentions, but the boy hadn't.  
  
The demon-fox had then tried to move several times by stirring up a great amount of chakra to the boy's hands. Instead of feeling energised enough to move once the chakra was there, however, the demon-fox found that even the smallest twitch of a finger brought the body a searing hot pain that ripped at the very core. It was so excruciating even Nine-Tails didn't want to try in fear of wearing out the boy's nerves.  
  
"Foolish boy,"  
  
Nine-Tails grumbled through the boy's lips, enraged that he, the great Nine-Tails, was stuck in such an awkwardly stupid position. He kept his eyes on the leaves.  
  
  
  
  
  
Sasuke looked as calm as he always did, but Sakura was showing visible signs of being distraught. She constantly swept strands of hair behind her ear, even though they weren't in her face, and her brows were slightly creased.  
  
Hinata knew why Sakura was looking so uneasy. Naruto had heightened his ninja skills considerably over the years, and was well on the way from a Chuunin to a Jounin. Naruto's stealth was one of those that even Sasuke had trouble uncovering his tracks across a thirty-metre range of sand. Yet as the trio walked along the undergrowth of the forest, the trail of disgruntled leaves before them was a sure sign of someone having run through the forest floor.  
  
At first, all three of them had thought that Naruto was tricking them by leaving such an obvious trail, but after checking almost every point of possible entry, they realised that it wasn't a trick at all.  
  
Hinata could tell, even though Sakura hadn't said anything since they had entered the forest, that the absolute lack of caution worried her greatly. Caution was the essence of a ninja in many ways, and though Naruto sometimes proved to have none, Sakura knew he at least wouldn't leave a gaping pathway this obvious.  
  
He must have been in another state of mind for himself to be so careless, Hinata thought. She took care not to crunch the yellowing leaves beneath her feet too loudly.  
  
After nearly fifteen minutes of walking, Sasuke paused in his tracks for a second. His eyes briefly scanned the bark of a tree by him, and Sakura could have sworn she saw a flicker of a scowl on his face before he changed course and turned to his right. Wondering what was going on, Sakura quickened her pace to inspect for herself.  
  
The sun was hanging low in the sky, still a burning disc of darkish yellow, and it filtered through the trees a dim orange light. Sakura saw on the bark, directly under a dappling of dim sunlight, a slight scrape of claw-like marks. She blinked, wondering why Sasuke had bothered to glance at some animal's marks, when she noticed that the gaping trail at her feet carried a few paces forwards before stopping.  
  
Hinata stepped up behind her and looked at the marks over Sakura's shoulder with an expression of mild confusion. Sakura was considering calling out to Sasuke to ask why he had turned, when Hinata audibly inhaled sharply. Sakura turned around in surprise and concern, and saw even under the dim dapples of the yellow light that Hinata had visibly paled, her eyes fixated on the claw marks.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
Sakura asked worriedly, and winced as her voice penetrated the stillness of the forest. Hinata seemed to gain her stand at Sakura's voice, however, and breathed out slowly, trying to regain herself before she spoke again.  
  
"Naruto-kun has been careless again,"  
  
She said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. Sakura bit her lip as she stiffened at Hinata's words, but felt highly confused.   
  
"What do you mean? How?"  
  
She asked as she surveyed her surroundings, unable to link Naruto with the claw-like marks. Hinata trudged through a mass of leaves directly off the open trail and by the tree with claw-marks, following Sasuke's choice of path. Sakura stared after, question etched on every feature on her face before she hurriedly followed suit.  
  
After about twenty paces, there was another trail that lacked undergrowth and revealed slimy ground below. Wet leaves lay flurriedly aside the trail, as though the person running through had hastily run and scattered leaves among its midst.  
  
Sakura was severely confused, as she had no idea how Sasuke and Hinata had related the engravings on the bark to the path Naruto had taken.  
  
"I don't get what those marks have to do with Naruto,"  
  
She said, a hint of complaint edging her voice.   
  
Hinata turned abruptly to Sakura, looking grave, and lifted a hand. Sakura opened her mouth to ask Hinata what she was doing, when she was answered as Hinata swiftly pushed down the sleeve on her left arm.  
  
Sakura's mouth remained open as she stared at the claw-like marks that bruised Hinata's forearm and her wrist, with fading but still prominent red and white splotches colouring where it was not blue or purple. Hinata refused to let her eyes meet her own arm, and continued to divert her attention from it as she pulled the sleeve back into place. She walked on, picking up speed in effort to catch up to Sasuke.  
  
Sakura had no idea what was going on with Naruto, but now she realised that neither Hinata or Sasuke understood either. She glanced at the clawed bark, the scraped out engravements of wood identical to the bruised marks on Hinata's arm.  
  
She had always thought that Naruto reminded her somewhat of a mischievous animal, like a raccoon or something - what with those whisker-like birthmarks that his cheeks bore, and his constant nattering. But this was strange. The animal Sakura was thinking of now was something more wild... more monstrous. She shook her head quickly.  
  
'Now that's just stupid and ludicrous,'  
  
She told herself,  
  
'Something *monstrous* in Naruto? Talk about over-dramatic. There's something up, but how does the word 'monstrous' make its way in?'  
  
She smiled weakly in self-attempt to erase that train of thought, but as she caught up to Sasuke and Hinata, her mind could not help but ponder.  
  
  
  
  
  
As the dim orange sunlight drifting through the leaves darkened just slightly as the sun sank lower, the demon-fox pricked his ears as smallest sound of clothes rustling past bark sounded.   
  
  
  
  
  
At the end of the trail, there was a parting of leaves and twigs that opened to a space yet to be seen. Thin, yellow-orange light streamed onto the three ninjas through the very long and thin slit between the leaves as they tread on the undergrowth.  
  
Sasuke stopped, tensing, and the girls paused behind him.  
  
Someone was there.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Sasuke boldly stepped forward and brushed past the leaves and into the open space, not even attempting to be quiet. It was so un-Sasuke-like Sakura took several moments of shock before she could steadily pass the leaves herself, shortly followed by Hinata who looked extremely tense and nervous. She was biting her lower lip tightly.  
  
Sakura took in her surroundings as she walked behind Sasuke. Chunks of old rock scattered the area, but the ground was hard-packed with only tiny tufts of yellow grass growing in random patches. The area had probably once occupied a large rock which had been quarried a long time ago, Sakura thought as she walked to a space beside Sasuke. Then she saw Sasuke's unmasked surprise at a certain entity before him, and she turned her eyes to the direction of his gaze.  
  
Between two piles of rock sat Naruto. He was sitting there with his legs propped up and apart, his elbows nestling on either knee. The whisker-like marks on his face were longer and streaked with something darker. His chin was lifted, but his eyes were not. They were almost hidden beneath his fringe of yellow, glinting with the reflection of the gradually darkening orange light of the sunset.   
  
Hinata joined Sasuke and Sakura by standing to Sasuke's right, and her eyes immediately widened at the sight of Naruto. She almost stumbled into Sasuke in surprise, but she managed to take a single step backwards, keeping her eyes trained on the blonde boy.  
  
There was a long silence that stretched on as the orange light grew dimmer and dimmer.  
  
Then, as Sakura watched, just the tiniest hint of a smile graced the edge of Naruto's lips.  
  
Sasuke didn't miss it, and his eyes narrowed. And he finally chose to break the silence with the question laden on the their minds.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
The smile on Naruto's lips grew sinisterly wider.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: I know that's one wacked up last line... forgive me for that one. ^^;;  
  
Thanks so much for your positive response. I know I didn't write for quite a while... I was kind of stuck in 'I-don't-wanna-write-no-more' world, but luckily for me, God pulled me out and kicked me back into my seat. I'm so glad He did. By any rate, here I am, and I'm absolutely gob-smacked by some of the comments. I'm just incredibly glad my writing's been somewhat accepted. *blushes* Thank you. *bows*  
  
And by the way, peeps - have a really good new year, right? ^.^* 


	5. Eloquence

Hinata could not understand how this was happening.  
  
There she could see, plainly under the sunset, the blonde sixteen-year-old boy they had been searching for. He had his orange clothes, his forehead protector with the Leaf Village emblem and his blonde hair.  
  
Yet nothing seemed more out of place with him than now. It wasn't just his lengthened birthmarks, his hunched shoulders, the strange glint in his normally blue eyes or the incredibly sinister smile at his lips. It was the fact that everything that had changed was so drastically not like Naruto, yet it seemed so... *natural*.  
  
'To have a different attitude is different to having the characteristics already embedded naturally in yourself,'  
  
Hinata thought as her eyes darted over his widening smile.  
  
One of the most startling differences, however, lay in the atmosphere. Sasuke, Sakura and Hinata could all sense the horribly dark and icy aura Naruto was emitting. It was not visible to the naked eye, but they could feel it snaking its dark tendrils around their legs, around their necks. It was all they could do to not shudder.  
  
It was all this that allowed the three to immediately come to their conclusion:  
  
**This person could not possibly be Naruto.**  
  
"Did you not hear me?"  
  
Sasuke's voice took on an icy edge, his eyes coldly boring into Naruto.  
  
Then Naruto let out a snarlish laugh that sounded a lot like a bark. Hinata was so taken back by the sudden, unfamiliar sound she shrank behind Sasuke, looking scared.  
  
"I'm impressed."  
  
He rasped in a voice completely unlike Naruto's; it held a somewhat animal-like bite to it. Sasuke was surprised to hear Naruto speak, but he did not show it.  
  
'...A clone? No... the differences are too obvious - he would've changed back by now,'  
  
Sasuke thought,  
  
'Possession through Spirit Jutsu, like Ino? No... then the body should be nearby, and I can't sense a thing.'  
  
Naruto seemed to be able to sense Sasuke's mounting frustration because he spoke next,  
  
"I am admittedly surprised that you know that this body is currently not in original state of mind. But do not bother to fathom who I am, boy. You apparently do not know of this boy's past."  
  
"...So you are a spirit who has possessed Naruto?"  
  
Sakura asked tentatively, utterly confused.  
  
"Did-- did you do all those things to Hinata?"  
  
Hinata inhaled sharply and sent Sakura a frantic glance, but Sakura was determined.  
  
She needed to know if there was a reason behind the sudden changes in Naruto's behaviour. Possession of the mind was as good enough as any reason Sakura could think of, and she badly wanted this reason to pin the pain she had witnessed on.  
  
Naruto snorted.  
  
"That much is obvious. I would have thought you would have figured that one out by now. I feel I have over-estimated you."  
  
At these words, Hinata felt as though her insides had dropped out quite suddenly. She felt the urge to hurl again, but for entirely different reasons.  
  
'I was nearly hurt-- by this-- this-- it wasn't even N-Naruto-kun--'  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
Sakura demanded, her eyes blazing as the mere thought of Naruto being manipulated into hurting someone she knew he cared about a lot. What sort of horrible entity would force someone else to do something like-- *rape*?  
  
Naruto's only response was the vanishing of his grin. Sasuke spoke again, and his tone startled Sakura. She had known Sasuke to get pissed off before on several occasions, but she had never seen him try so hard to conceal his anger. Then she realised that was the wisest thing to do.  
  
Quite apart from having dark and evil aura, Naruto was also emitting a great sense of power. There seemed almost impossible to Sakura for anyone to have such powerful expanses of chakra, and it was probably unfathomable to Sasuke, too.  
  
Caution is, after all, Sakura reminded herself, a ninja's very essence.   
  
"You seem to know Naruto very well,"  
  
Sasuke said in a low voice. There was no answer, and Sasuke tried again.  
  
"Where is Naruto now?"  
  
"He is lost in his own mind. There is no way to retrieve him until he chooses to arise himself."  
  
Naruto said quite calmly. There was a short silence as the statements sunk in.  
  
"What do you mean by that?"  
  
Sakura asked slowly, and there was just the slightest of trembles to her voice.  
  
"I am saying,"  
  
Naruto said in an impatient growl,  
  
"that the fool has been traumatised. He is suffering in his own depths of pain, and there is nothing you can do about it."  
  
That hit a nerve in Sakura.  
  
"What do you mean, 'there is nothing you can do about it'?"  
  
She asked, the shakiness in her voice now due to an entirely different reason,  
  
"We happen to be his closest friends!"  
  
"Then why did he kick him?"  
  
Naruto asked coldly, and Sasuke stiffened. A surge of anger shot through Sakura as it usually did when someone didn't understand Sasuke. She spoke angrily through clenched teeth.  
  
"He appeared to be raping someone in a violent manner. Sasuke-kun had every right to kick him away."  
  
"But it wasn't him."  
  
Naruto said, an amused glint in his eyes as he surveyed Sakura's expression change from anger to faltered confusion,  
  
"You call yourself friends but you do not understand that he is not himself when he is caught doing something I am sure he would never usually do."  
  
Sakura was startled out of her wits when Sasuke abruptly bent down and grabbed Naruto's clothes by the collar, dragging him up to his face to glare at him. Naruto visibly winced at the gesture, and when Sasuke spoke, his voice was low and angered beyond reason.  
  
"Let me get this straight. You know Naruto very well, and from the sounds of it, Naruto knows you too. Am I correct?"  
  
The blonde boy did not answer, and Sasuke gave a sharp shake of his hands, jerking Naruto's neck as he snarled,  
  
"Answer me!!"  
  
Naruto muttered something that sounded like 'I don't believe this' before saying in a rather pained growl,  
  
"You could say that."  
  
"So you are telling me that you possessed Naruto's mind in an attempt to rape Hinata against his will?"  
  
"Perhaps."  
  
"Is this,"  
  
Sasuke growled, his eyes darkening as he spoke,  
  
"A common occurence?"  
  
"You might say that,"  
  
Naruto said vaguely, and was immediately slammed against a rock. He let out a sharp yowl of pain as Sasuke practically shouted,  
  
"I cannot believe this! Naruto has had you - this dark, huge monster-like entity - lurking around since *when*?!"  
  
Sakura grabbed Sasuke to drag him off, quickly and desperately saying,  
  
"Sasuke-kun! Please stop it-- we don't know--"  
  
"You forced Naruto to do this?! Who the freaking hell are you to do that?!"  
  
He yelled angrily, and Naruto rested against the rock, closing his eyes and breathing a little heavily. He seemed to be in great pain, and he swore under his breath.  
  
"Please-- please, whoever you are-- tell us, tell us what is going on,"  
  
Sakura begged, her arms thrown around Sasuke's middle,  
  
"Tell us what is going on!!"  
  
***...He could tell that the black-haired boy did not usually reveal his emotions so easily, and he was surprised to say the least at the sudden outburst. The pink-haired girl he could see a desperate wanting and true passion in her feelings of friendship towards Naruto - and the girl behind had her eyes squeezed tightly shut, her hand over her chest as she bit her lip tightly in pain...***  
  
"Perhaps,"  
  
Naruto growled, causing the other three ninjas' heads to snap up in attention at the change of tone in his voice,  
  
"You are all closer to the boy than I thought..." 


	6. Reasons

A/N:: First thing... Loooong chappie! O_o;; Second... ano ne... I have a lot of **spoilers** in this chapter... if you don't like spoilers, please avert your eyes from the chunks of italics and just skip them. You probably will understand that story without the memory trips back anyhow. ^_^;; Thank you. *bows*  
  
  
  
  
His eyes were still glinting sinisterly, but there was a new tone in his voice and his slowly spreading grin. His teeth were bared to reveal sharpened fangs that Naruto never usually had.  
  
"I have the impression that you do not know of this boy's past fully,"  
  
He said, his voice an oddly low growl, and Sasuke's anger ebbed away as he thought about this. Sakura's arms fell away from his sides. Come to think of it, all he had known about Naruto before he had joined in three-man teams with him and Sakura had been three major facts; one, Naruto had failed his exams more than once, and therefore the second fact had been 'because he's an idiot'. But the third had been 'understandable, since he's an orphan...like me'.  
  
Sasuke had never been one to care about others, but for some reason, Naruto had always struck him as something different. He was a jerk who constantly irritated him - still playing stupid pranks at the age of sixteen! - but Sasuke had always sensed that he was smarting beneath his noisy exterior. And Sasuke could definitely relate to pain.  
  
"He never had parents,"  
  
Sasuke said slowly, and the girls looked at Naruto tentatively to see if this had been an appropriate answer.  
  
"Is that it?"  
  
When there was a suppressed silence, the blonde rolled his eyes.  
  
"You prove my impression correct then, I see."  
  
He said, and seemed to relax in his position against the rock slightly more.  
  
Hinata bit her lip as thoughts raced through her head.  
  
_Naruto-kun is not himself right now. It was this... person before me who tried to hurt me. But Naruto is...? I..._  
  
"I don't understand fully what is going on,"  
  
Sakura said carefully, unconciously completing Hinata's thoughts,  
  
"Are you from another village? Have you possessed Naruto temporarily, or--?"  
  
"Hardly,"  
  
Naruto said shortly. He took a deep breath before exhaling slowly, closing his eyes as he did so. He looked as though he was collecting his thoughts. Then he spoke slowly and clearly.  
  
"Sixteen years ago, a demon fox wreaking havoc in the Leaf Village was 'destroyed'. You _do_ know of this...?"  
  
Sakura nodded as a representative response for the three; Hinata looked too withdrawn to reply, and Sasuke seemed only interested in listening and not complying. Naruto snorted at the attitude, but continued to talk.  
  
"The Fourth Hokage, at the expense of his life, sealed Nine-Tails into the belly button of a newborn baby. It's a very old but, quite unfortunately for me, very effective seal. Nine-Tails has been imprisoned within the body of a mere child for many years."  
  
This time, there was no response because the three ninjas looked too stunned to speak. However, Sakura took it to herself once more to barely manage a reply of,  
  
"Unfortunately for _you_...?"  
  
"Yes. This boy has been my vessel for sixteen years uptil now."  
  
Sasuke's eyes were strained as he murmured in a tone of disbelief,  
  
"_Nine-Tails...?_"  
  
There was a single twitch of a smile in Naruto's lips before it stretched into a grin, sharp teeth bared. The reflecting glint of darkening orange sky in his irises sharply contrasted with his slit-like pupils as the bag-like lines below his eyes darkened. The whiskers seemed to stretch and thicken before their eyes, and the image triggered as series of scenes, flickering past in mesmerising detail...  
  
The moment Sasuke and Sakura had chosen to accept Naruto--  
  
_"Where's Naruto?"  
  
"Don't change the subject... who cares about Naruto? All he does is get in fights with you. Well, he hasn't had a normal childhood. He doesn't have any parents. He can do whatever he wants. If I acted like him my parents would get so mad at me. He's so lucky, parents never getting on his case."  
  
"That's why he misbehaves so much... All alone..."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"The sadness of having your parents yell at you is no where near the sadness he feels."  
  
"What's this... all of a sudden...?"  
  
"You're... annoying."  
  
..... You're annoying. Is this how Naruto feels?  
  
"Maybe next time... I can be a little nicer."  
_  
  
--and Naruto had never shown any signs of the demon fox - always working to not be the burden he usually was--  
  
_"With this kunai... I'll protect the old man. Let's continue the mission!"_  
  
  
-- they hadn't even known they had entered his heart in ways more than one - how could they have been so stupid not to realise it earlier?- back then, back--  
  
  
_ "EAT SHIT!!"  
  
Naruto has snapped... but... why is this Naruto so strong?  
  
That is Naruto?  
  
"Hey...you...alright... Scaredy-cat?"  
_  
  
-- they'd seen it - seen his pain before, --  
  
  
_ "You'll never understand what it's like to be burdened by a symbol you could never rid yourself of!!!"  
  
"...Yeah... I can... ...And...? So what? Pft... stop acting so cool... you're not the only one that's special...!"  
  
_   
-- how blind could they have been?  
  
It suddenly made sense... why no adult wanted to know Naruto, why no one would accept him the way he was... why people would ignore him, pretend he wasn't in the area - it suddenly made electrifying sense.  
  
Naruto-- he had been _controlled_ to assault Hinata-- and Sakura's eyes rounded as she realised how much Naruto related to her, how much he understood her-- and because of that, how much Hinata would mean to him--  
  
  
_ "Hinata too... she's suffered as much as you!! A member of the main family... but not acknowledged, trying her best to change herself... thinking that as she was coughing blood while fighting you!"_  
  
  
Sasuke remembered -- after Naruto's fight with Gaara, his words:  
  
  
_ "Alone and incomplete... that pain, I understand it... but the people who are precious to me... if you are hurting them... if you are trying to hurt the people I hold dear to me..."_  
  
  
And Sasuke felt his blood run cold as he remembered what Naruto had said.  
  
  
_ "They saved me from the hell of loneliness... They acknowledged my existence. And that is why they are the most precious people to me..."_  
  
  
He stared at the figure before him, slouched against the rocks and looking back with disconcerting eerieness.  
  
"Naruto... is lost in his own mind. You said that, right?"  
  
Sakura spoke almost too quietly, but before Naruto could even reply she went on, the pace in her voice quickening,  
  
"Naruto -- the one that -- he never even showed that -- he'd always try to prove _himself_, he's never shown that he'd had a m-monster-- why did he if-- if he _knew_ why--"  
  
"He was oblivious about me until he graduated from his academy."  
  
Naruto muttered, causing Sakura's jaw to drop open.  
  
"B-but-- that means if he _didn't_ know-- then--"  
  
"Why else would he try so hard?"  
  
Naruto said with a smirk, a hint of amusement in his voice, and Sasuke's expression visibly darkened in anger.  
  
"He was unaware of why people would not accept him. He didn't understand their harshness or their coldness to him. And when he did discover the fact he had a demon sealed in his navel, he chose to show people exactly who he was."  
  
That was when Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise. Because the tone in the voice of Nine-Tails through Naruto's growl was not a mocking one. It held an almost suppressed amount of pride.  
  
"In a way, you can say Naruto chose not to ignore me, nor to let me take control. Naruto decided to _tame_ me. Nine-Tails, the demon fox - tamed by the hands of a mere human boy. One might think it to be impossible, and it is, but... he has managed to make me... respect him."  
  
Then the slit-eyes narrowed suddenly in a twist of anger that seeped into his next words.  
  
"There are times the boy has failed and infuriated himself and me. I am a demon-fox, and I need outlets for certain... desires. When the boy was younger, he was far too small for such a huge entity as I. But as he grew... so did his capacity... and his ability. And I was able to increase my space in him without affecting the seal's chemistry... and little by little, I could exert small amounts of control over him when I had... sexual desires."  
  
There was an almost comic pause as the three stared at Naruto, and Sakura mumbled,  
  
"You're in heat?"  
  
That seemed to irk him slightly as he twitched.  
  
"I'm a demon, but I'm also a fox. A _male_ fox. Fortunately enough for me, the boy is also a male. He tried to deny me several times, of course, he _tried_..."  
  
Sakura remembered with a jolt the look Naruto had passed at her one day. She had never been so shocked and scared at a look like that... it had been penetrating and so frantically hungry... and he had fought against it to protect her from himself. And not wanting to trouble Sasuke or her, he had taken Sasuke's yelling and apologised profusely.  
  
"Yet who should happen,"  
  
Naruto said with a very small smile,  
  
"by his doorstep this morning but that girl?"  
  
Hinata head snapped up, startled at the glance the blonde shot at her, and she stepped backwards quickly as fear clawed at her from the desire she saw in his eyes. Then Naruto let out a short chuckle, the desire dissipating, and Hinata realised he had been pretending, just to scare her. Resentment and anger filled her, and she looked away.  
  
"I should have known he was attached to her. The boy will not actually respond to my control unless he wishes to comply himself. And seeing that I wanted the girl and he let me accomplish that through his body... he wanted her too."  
  
Hinata flushed, sneaking a glance at the blonde, not flushing from the fact Naruto was attached to her but from the fact that Nine-Tails could still be amusedly smiling at them as he spoke.  
  
"Are you implying,"  
  
Sasuke said through clenched teeth,  
  
"That Naruto _wanted_ to rape Hinata? That it is not your fault?"  
  
Naruto only smiled as he said lightly,  
  
"Take it as you wish."  
  
Sasuke let out a very colourful string of words as he advanced at a frightening speed towards the blonde, but was quickly intercepted by Sakura as she held him back by grabbing his arm.  
  
"How-- how can we get Naruto back from his state? Were you serious when you said-- that there was nothing we could do?"  
  
This time, Naruto's amusement fell away from his face to leave an almost grave-looking expression of doubt.  
  
"I took control of the boy because I was not able to recognise his emotional ties with the dark-haired girl. I will tell you that I have under-estimated this boy and am now paying severely for my doubts. You may have already noticed, but I cannot move an inch properly without experiencing excruciating pain."  
  
He demonstrated by gently flexing a hand and letting out a sharp yelp and a shudder of pain, the hand dropping uselessly to the ground before he continued,  
  
"Unfortunately, I had neglected the memory of what happens when this state continues for long periods of time.  
  
"What has happened is that the boy has shut down his mental system. This is why I am here; his body supplies me for its conciousness simply because he has a second one sealed in him. What the body doesn't realise is that the boy - despite his rapid growth compared to before - is nowhere near the capacity necessary to allow me to take control for this long."  
  
"Your control takes up chakra?"  
  
Sasuke said, his voice weighed down as he hoped that what he was thinking was not what was happening. Naruto rolled his eyes.  
  
"I'm controlling myself to not completely take control, ludicrously enough. Unfortunately, I am not suited for this small vessel, and my control is slipping. I will most likely burst out of this body if I am left for too long."  
  
Sakura let out a gasp of horror at these words, Hinata's eyes widening, and Sasuke's eyes strained further as he asked,  
  
"What's stopping you from killing Naruto now? Why not re-introduce the demon-fox back to this world?"  
  
"What's stopping me,"  
  
Nine-Tails growled, scowling at Sasuke irritatedly as though he was an idiot,  
  
"Is the fact that I am _sealed_. Do you not understand the ramifications of that? Naruto is not my medium, he is a prison in which I have no windows and no lock. I will kill myself as well as the boy should I even attempt bursting out of my cage."  
  
Hinata looked too shocked and too speechless to do anything else but start shaking quite violently at that precise moment, her eyes sharply stinging with hot tears. Sakura immediately went over to her to hold her around her shoulders, and Sasuke asked,  
  
"How can that be stopped?"  
  
Naruto sighed as he relaxed against the rock, looking deflated all of a sudden.  
  
"During the hours it took for someone to discover the boy, I did think of ways. But in the end, I could only think of three options."  
  
"Three?"  
  
Sasuke repeated, unable to hide the surprise he felt at this fact.  
  
"The first option is to leave me be. I will kill myself, destroying my medium and one of the worst threats to the world in process."  
  
There was a pause in which there was a lot of disbelieving stares at Naruto, who snorted and said,  
  
"I felt that would have been what many would have considered the best option, but this is turning out rather different. All right. The second and third options involve a jutsu."  
  
"A jutsu? Like a counter-spirit-lock jutsu?"  
  
Sakura mused, and Naruto made a noise of annoyance.  
  
"Of course not. It is not that simple. I speak of a forbidden jutsu that is incredibly difficult to maintain and is very dangerous in physical aspects... but has most potential harm to the mental mind."  
  
Sasuke and Sakura looked at him in full concentration, Hinata likewise looking resolutely at him although her lower lip was still trembling, and Naruto sighed.  
  
"I suppose it cannot be helped. The third jutsu is a special genjutsu. By merging two entities' chakra together and performing a seal, you are able to literally enter anothers mind. However, it requires full control and a lot of chakra. You, jounin,"  
  
He said suddenly, referring to Sasuke,  
  
"most likely have the most chance of success in this jutsu than the rest."  
  
"...what is it supposed to achieve?"  
  
Sasuke asked quite uncertainly.  
  
"Using this jutsu, there are two options. One option is to remove the seal that is found in this boy. That way, I will be able to reign in the body and tear it apart easily without any restraints."  
  
Sasuke glared at him.  
  
"I did not think you would agree, although I would prefer that choice over the other two... very well. The last option is to convince the dimwit, whom you will need to find within the confines of his mind, to stop torturing himself. He had locked himself away, and therefore is unable to take control. Once he does, I will stop doing this to his body."  
  
Sakura's eyebrow quirked slightly.  
  
"Doing what?"  
  
She asked, then let out a short, stifled shriek as something blasted around Naruto all of a sudden, misting the air with a powdering of dirt and dust. But the screen was thin, and it was very visible to see what had sprouted quite suddenly. Hinata let out a choked gasp.  
  
Naruto had two fox tails lightly curling over his torso from behind. Sasuke could not stop himself from gaping as the dust settled.  
  
"Y-you're already..."  
  
He said, his voice weak, and Naruto spoke with a roll of his eyes.  
  
"Yes. Several hours have already passed. It is only a matter of minutes before all nine tails appear to signify my full take-over of this body."  
  
"Th-then hurry Sasuke-kun!!"  
  
Sakura blurted out, her voice panicked,  
  
"Do that genjutsu!"  
  
"What do I do?"  
  
Sasuke asked, determination returning to his features as he realised he had to this now, and he had to do it quick.  
  
"Open the vest and lift his shirt up. The seal is visible at the bare stomach."  
  
Sasuke knelt in front of him and hurriedly pulled the shirt upwards, revealing a very prominent and blood-red seal that was churning round in circles as he watched.v   
"Press your left palm against the seal, pushing your index finger against the elephant seal."  
  
Sasuke did as he spoke, and the seal stopped moving as the touch. He winced - Naruto's skin was burning hot. Naruto lifted a hand up, wincing all the way as he spoke.  
  
"I-- I will perform a jutsu seal with one hand. You will follow with only one hand, but my other will complete it. It is a full-combo genjutsu. I will start now. Do you understand?"  
  
Sasuke nodded curtly, ignoring the collective holding of breaths behind him by Sakura and Hinata.  
  
Naruto performed the seals with one hand. Not only were there at least fifty seals in a row; Naruto did each seal in lightning speed. It was difficult to follow, to say the least - even for Sasuke. However, Sasuke brought out his sharingan and used the copy skills of the Uchiha inheritance to concentrate solely on following each seal precisely.  
  
He was so concentrated he did not hear Naruto's continuous growls of pain, nor did he notice the blood running down from Naruto's palms and dotting the dusty ground from the strain.  
  
The jutsu seal ended at its fifty-second seal with a tiger seal, and Naruto's pained voice said clearly,  
  
"_Mind Entrance no Jutsu._"  
  
And before Sakura's and Hinata's eyes, Sasuke let out a sudden, sharp cry, his eyes blanking out completely as his expression settled from pain to listlessness before slumping over.  
  
Naruto quickly grabbed the hand touching the seal to keep it in place, the blood on his hand making it slippery and the movement paining him, and Sasuke lost his conciousness to the physical world.  
  
  
  
  
A/N2:: Thank you for your patience and your kind words. I do not deserve them. I have finally planned an ending for this story and I think it will end on chapter 9. Heehee - nine tails, ne? ^^; So thanks again. 


	7. Rejection

  
Sakura rushed to Sasuke, holding his shoulders as she gasped,  
  
"Sasuke-kun!! Wha-- what--"  
  
He let out a very soft sound of discontent and his head lolled against her shoulder. He had blanched and his eyes were shut tightly, as though he were in pain. She looked at him worriedly, casting a nasty glare at Naruto, when she noticed that his other hand not occupied with the seal was flailing about, his fingers clutching at the air beside Sakura as though he were searching for something. She supplied her hand, and he thread his fingers through hers and held her hand tightly.  
  
Sakura was reminded of the time during their first chuunin exam when Sasuke had been inflicted with the curse seal by Orochimaru. Sasuke had been unable to do anything but let out wretched cries of pain; that time, his hand had held hers so tightly all her knuckles had cracked simulataneously. The same fear from that precise moment flooded through her once more, but she quashed it quickly, knowing it wouldn't exactly help her or his situation.  
  
She squeezed his hand back as reassuringly as she could, and Sasuke started to murmur incoherent sounds against her neck that Sakura could not make out.  
  
That was when Sakura noticed that Hinata was heading towards the entrance they had made when entering the rocky area.  
  
"Where are you going?!"  
  
Sakura exclaimed, sounding a lot more disbelieving than she had meant to because of Sasuke.  
  
Hinata did not say anything and left the clearing back into the forest. Sakura wanted very badly to run to Hinata and drag her back to demand an explanation, but she knew what Sasuke would have said if he had been concious.  
  
_Leave her be. She has a right to choose._  
  
She could hear his completely calm and collected voice, and had to agree that Hinata must be going through a very painful ordeal at the moment. Imagine, she thought to herself, a demon-fox posessing someone precious to you to try and hurt you! She must feel like killing Nine-Tails now...  
  
Sakura sighed as she wrapped an arm around Sasuke and pressed her cheek to his, holding his hand tightly with the other.  
  
Naruto snorted, and Sakura had to suppress a very strong urge to strangle him.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
_"Sasuke-kun...! What's wrong with him? He's shivering!"_  
  
It was freezing cold.  
  
Icy waters seeped through his legs, clamming them up and rendering them to an almost useless point.  
  
His hands poorly attempted to soothe the sores in his head. He could not open his eyes - they were still screwed tightly shut with pain...  
  
_"It is something he will have to endure. Calm down, human."_  
  
The last thing he could remember was a horrible feeling of a huge, invisible hand plunging deeply into him and grasping at his heart-strings before shooting up his spinal cord to his brain, where rough fingers dug into his mind and wrenched it out and away from his body, his physicality bursting out with a howl of shock and pain before letting go of conciousness.  
  
What had happened next was what Sasuke could only describe as falling at what felt like sound-speed down a winding tunnel -- then a numbing darkness had engulfed his vision as he fell with a loud splash and thud into freezing liquid. His headache pounded its last painful chords before finally ebbing away, and Sasuke brought himself to open his eyes.  
  
_"....His skin..."_  
  
The place was eerily dark, illuminated with a dull, storm-grey light that took a long time for even his sharp eyes to adjust to. Dank walls took residence either side of him, stretching far beyond his sight and into darkness both in front of him and behind. The waters appeared ink-black and felt horribly cold. As Sasuke picked up a leg gingerly to test its mobility, the dark droplets sprinkled onto the surface of the water as he lifted his foot sounded along the cold walls with sinister echoes.  
  
Sasuke had a feeling he had just made a very big mistake - as though he had been on a mission and had just given their position away. He held his breath momentarily, waiting almost for something to happen...  
  
_"...His skin is like ice..."_  
  
Nothing did.  
  
_"Oh no!! He--"_  
  
All of a sudden, Sasuke felt like an idiot, balancing on one leg in this alien place.  
  
_"Wait a minute... he's breathing again, sorry."_  
  
Shaking his head sharply to rid himself of the frozen moment, he shook his legs out. The echoes rid himself of his fear; the sounds did not sound as intruding this time as he splashed water up. His legs seemed to be functioning properly, and taking a deep, shuddery breath, Sasuke made himself move forward.  
  
_"Stop worrying, girl. He has to go through this if he wants to bring the boy back."_  
  
Each step made watery echoes rebound along the grey walls, but Sasuke moved determinedly on.  
  
According to what Nine-Tails had told him, Sasuke knew he had to be somewhere in Naruto's mind.  
  
He had never particularly been fond of Naruto's way of thinking - especially when it focused on ramen and ramen only - but this place was somewhere Sasuke disliked even more.  
  
The cold, the darkness, the strange, grey formality of it all...  
  
_"What do you mean?"_   
  
He didn't like it.  
  
Sasuke's peripheral was suddenly enraptured with a black expanse, and his head jerked round as he let out an unstoppable, sharp inhalement of surprise. The blackness seemed to suck him in... He squinted through the gloom, and the image sharpened. He could make out rows and rows of bars, not unlike those belonging to a prison cell. The cell was empty. On the center of the long row of bars was a single piece of paper, and Sasuke could just see what it was... a seal.  
  
_"Go through 'this'? Through what?"_  
  
'So this is what imprisons Nine-Tails...?'  
  
He thought, and was startled to hear his own voice echo his exact musings across the corridoors, bounding back and forth in the gloom. But Sasuke was in no way prepared, despite the earlier warning, as to what happened next.   
  
**....Who is it?**  
  
As Naruto's voice strongly resounded along the storm-grey walls, a new-found chill ran through Sasuke's spine, the water immediately growing colder.  
  
_"Go through the boy's pain."_  
  
The uncertainty plucked at Sasuke's most sensitive nerves, the alien suspicion piercing through his chest, and the three syllables cast an invisible wall between him and Naruto that towered out of sight. The air seemed to thicken and smother with an almost material darkness as the icy waters prickled needle-like numbness in his legs.  
  
Sasuke felt himself grow faint; there was something so huge and he had only caught a glimpse of it - yet here he was, shivering from the cold and his eyes rounding in shock from the effect of Naruto's words. He could feel his eyes rolling into his skull; the cold was almost drowning him, there was no sense in his legs anymore, and there was a terrible ache starting to grind at his brain...  
  
_"What do you-- Sasuke-kun?! His teeth are chattering! His face is losing colour too rapidly... oh, this can't be good... oh, God... help...!"_  
  
Sasuke suddenly felt the drowning feeling falter to a stop, a warmth radiating from an invisible source at his hands and his neck and spreading through his body. The grey walls slid back into focus, the feeling in his legs returning in a rush with small pin-pricks of pain. He found himself inhaling sharply, unaware of the fact he had been holding his breath ever since Naruto's voice had echoed through.  
  
Confused, Sasuke pressed his palms to his face. A heat spread through his jawline to his neck, where a warmth was already spreading down his back. What was this feeling...? Then, as Sasuke let his arms down, a very faint but familiar scent swept past his nose, and he understood. His eyes softened slightly as he silently thanked her for this uncalled strength. And taking a deep breath, he hardened his resolution and said firmly and clearly,  
  
"Naruto, it's Sasuke."  
  
There was a silence so still only the gently lapping of water against the stone-grey walls could be heard.  
  
_"... Hmm."  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"It seems that the jounin has triggered something in my vessel. I would not be surprised if this black-haired boy were to return back this instant from the pain."_  
  
Without warning, an ear-piercing sound shot through the entire place, ringing and rebounding against the walls and rippling currents through the inky water. The cold slapped against his skin as he pressed his palms tightly to his ears in a futile attempt to block out the explosive sound. He stumbled as his vision doubled and blurred, and slammed against a wall. He regained some composure there, and although the piercing siren continued, Sasuke managed to collect most of himself.  
  
_"You're wrong. Sasuke-kun's strong, I know it."  
  
"Whatever you wish to believe, human."_  
  
He took a step towards what seemed like the origin of the noise, and the siren grew to a shriller pitch. It was as though his skull was shattering; Sasuke could barely make out what he was doing, but somehow he knew that this was purely Naruto's doing. And that probably meant that Naruto was at the origin of sound...  
  
_"Sasuke-kun! Can you hear me? Please don't lose it-- please bring Naruto back--!!"_  
  
Sasuke took another step, and he seemed to lose the ability to string coherent words in his head to make thoughts in sentence form. But there was an insistent heat at his elbow, assisting him up, and a comforting warmth pressed to his back. _Sakura._ Sasuke forced himself another step forward, pointedly ignoring the convulsions of pain this caused.  
  
_"He's bleeding!!"  
  
"That is a usual occurence during the Mind Entrance no Jutsu. Humans tend to get immense strain on their mentality, and their bodies try to support the mind the best it can. The results are internal, and thus--"  
  
"I-Is there a chance that-- a chance that he might die?!"  
  
"No."  
  
"Thank God..."  
  
"...However... he might lose his mind in here. And in a way, I suppose that may be worse than death."_  
  
Each step brought Sasuke closer to losing himself, but he relied on the heat spreading through him. The heat conquered the icy tendrils trying to stop him, and as Sasuke took another step through the churning waters curling around his legs, the siren stopped abruptly.  
  
His usual eyesight returned; he breathed in deeply, his chest shuddering achingly as he did so. He squinted into the darkness, and saw just the outline of a figure slumped against a dead-end, soft grey glow lighting the smallest features.  
  
_"What?!"  
  
"Wait... I think that this boy is about to..."_  
  
'....Naruto?'  
  
His voice echoed through the walls questioningly.  
  
_"Yes... he's done it. He's reached him."  
  
"Sasuke-kun did it?! Kyaah! I knew he could!"_  
  
**....What are you doing here?**  
  
The voice sounded strange, and Sasuke could not recognise the tones hidden in it. Sasuke narrowed his eyes in annoyance.  
  
'I've come to take you back, of course. You're worrying everyone.'  
  
_"Human, I would not celebrate just yet..."_  
  
There was a small flicker in the image; a sliver of grey light flashed against Sasuke's vision like lightning before sinking back into darkness again.  
  
**Everyone, worry? Sasuke, do you realise what I've actually _done?_**  
  
Sasuke started to say something, but was promptly cut off as Naruto continued,  
  
**Haven't you ever done anything you regret so much, but you can't take it back? When you've promised yourself no regrets, but you find out that you've done something no one in their right mind would ever consider doing?!**  
  
Eyes flashed at Sasuke, a eerily silver glint to the usually blue eyes. He refrained from biting his lip, and instead reminded Naruto in a cool tone,  
  
'You _weren't_ in your right mind.'  
  
**...I...**  
  
_"Uh oh."_  
  
The eyes retreated as Naruto's voice turned soft.  
  
_"What is it?"_  
  
**...I never understood what it meant... to have people close to you... and when I realised what it was like... to-- to be dragged out of my hell into a whole new realm... I always thought that-- I'd-- I'd never hurt or betray my friends no matter... what--**  
  
The piercing wail shot the air for an instant, and Sasuke flinched as Naruto's voice continued,  
  
**And I never wanted to r-return-- going back seemed so-- too _painful_, but-- but I... I hurt her. I hurt her, Sasuke, and I can't take it back-- I--**  
  
'Naruto, _it wasn't you._'  
  
Sasuke said with as much insistence he could muster with difficulty.  
  
**No, Sasuke. It _was_ me. I lost to-- to that bastard's will--**  
  
'Naruto, it's a full-grown demon fox-- it's not something--'  
  
**I've been fighting to control it since I knew I had Nine-Tails in me, and my resolve takes flight the second-- the second he tries to manipulate me to hurt someone precious to me! And-- and everyone--! Damn it Sasuke, I-- I--**  
  
_"Sasuke-kun?!!"_  
  
Suddenly, an enormous force shoved against Sasuke, an inky wave of ice-water crashing against his torso and winding him effectively, the warmth barely clinging to him as Naruto yelled,  
  
**_I DESERVE TO GO BACK TO THAT HELL!!_**  
  
And Sasuke saw Naruto's expression, and felt as though everything in him were dropping out. Sasuke's response to seeing Naruto's face in full for the first time since he had entered his mind was so shocking every ounce of warmth and strength left him, and the full impact hit him in form of an immense and invisible burden that weighted his entire self down-- down--  
  
He shut his eyes tightly as the waters swirled and churned against him, knife-like stabs of pain creeping up his spine, the cold clutching at him, pulling him down--  
  
'Naruto, don't--!'  
  
Sasuke's sentence was left unfinished as the icy waters swallowed him up and he disappeared. The light darkened and the waters stilled once more.  
  
  
  
  
  
He bolted upright as he took in a deep, full breath of oxygen, faint pink and orange hues sliding into focus of a setting sky. He looked around almost wildly, and it took him a few seconds to remember what had just happened and where he was. Naruto - or perhaps he should see him as Nine-Tails - was sitting several feet away, wearing an all-knowing expression, and Sakura happened to be right behind him.  
  
"Thank the girl, jounin,"  
  
Nine-Tails drawled, and Sasuke noticed Naruto had darker features and five fox-tails resting a bit too casually against the rocks.  
  
"Had she not held you from behind you would have been plastered to that tree."  
  
Sasuke looked behind to see a slightly dazed Sakura looking at him uncertainly, her arms wrapped around his middle. He shrugged her off, looking disturbed as he glared at Nine-Tails.  
  
"What did you do?!"  
  
Sasuke seethed through clenched teeth, and Sakura looked surprisedly at him.  
  
"Sasuke-kun?"  
  
He ignored her as he moved towards Nine-Tails, but stopped as he felt something drip onto the dusty ground from himself. His fingers found their way to his ears; a thin stream of warm blood was trickling out and past his jaw to dot the ground in prominent, dark-scarlet stains. As he checked his hands, he saw drying blood crusted around his wrists.  
  
He looked up, and Naruto held up his hands to reveal the center of his palms dribbling with blood.  
  
"I didn't do anything. You backed out."  
  
Nine-Tails said coldly,  
  
"Perhaps in your full presence of mind you might have been able to wake him up properly, but apparently this puts a lot of mental strain on you. Common for humans to get internally hurt... but I am guessing that you have a lot of emotional burdens already. Perhaps it was your mentality that automatically brought you back out."  
  
Sasuke shook his head.  
  
"What I meant to say was, what did _you do to him_? He's shut himself in. And just now..."  
  
He stopped glaring at Nine-Tails to study his wrists and rub off the drying bits of rusty colour off them, but it was obvious he was hiding something as he went on,  
  
"Just now... I wasn't the one who moved away... Naruto ejected me."  
  
Sakura heard the hurt in Sasuke's voice, and hesitated whether she should move to him or not. His left hand had dropped to his side, looking lost and empty, so she moved forward and slipped her hand into his, loosely clasping his hand. He did not move away, but he did not look at her either.  
  
Recognising the warmth, Sasuke held her hand a little tighter, feeling a need to bask in familiarity for a moment.  
  
Sasuke knew why Naruto had pushed him out of his sub-conciousness the moment he had seen Naruto's expression. It was not something he was used to seeing on anyone's face, let alone Uzumaki Naruto...  
  
He had never seen Naruto ashamed to face him.  
  
The troubled look on his face attracted Sakura's concern, and as Nine-Tails watched Sasuke and Sakura curiously, a diversion in the form of Hinata's return appeared. The leaves rustled as she entered the clearing once more. She was carrying something in her hands as she walked over to the others with a resolved expression on her face.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Arigatou. *bows* Arigatou. *bows* Arigatou. *bows* Ariga-- *kapow* @_@ Oro... Anyways, I mean it! And Chinese New Year, people. *^^*   
  



	8. Hesitation

  
  
"Hinata,"  
  
Sakura said in surprise, and Hinata gave a faint nod in her direction before kneeling down next to her and Sasuke. She was carrying a small sprig of leaves in her hand. She shred a few leaves, and Sakura could see amongst the green and purple leaves a shiny, clear sap dribbling out. Hinata carefully lifted Sasuke's hand, and Sasuke flinched slightly at the movement.  
  
He hadn't noticed it before, but the ends of his fingertips on the hand that had been touching the seal were burnt raw. Sakura's hand flew to her mouth in effort to muffle her surprise. Hinata gently dabbed the torn edges of the purple and green leaves she held in her hands. Sasuke blinked, his shoulders visibly relaxing as the cool sap revived the deadened feeling in the nerves of his fingers. Then Hinata passed the leaves to Sakura before heading over to Naruto.  
  
Nine-Tails gave a haunted look to the dark-haired girl approaching him, and seemed keen to back away. However, Hinata's eyes were resolute, and she knelt down and grasped his hands firmly. Nine-Tails made no effort to mask his pain as he let out a sharp yowl, but Hinata ignored him as she examined his palms.  
  
She could see that several opening points of chakra had been torn wider than its usual pin-points, and were now visible to the naked eye and bleeding from torn muscles. The muscles that weren't torn were obviously over-pulled and strained to a point the skin looked purple. Hinata's eyes darkened in unmistakable anger, but her touch was gentle as she applied the soothing sap onto the bleeding areas.  
  
Nine-Tails clenched his teeth as he let out a menacing growl to Hianta; he did not appreciate this suspiciously nice gesture. Hinata shot back a very angered look, startling him, and Inner-Sakura snorted in laughter while she rubbed leaf-sap onto Sasuke's fingertips.  
  
"Do you not loathe the boy, human?"  
  
Hinata raised her milk-white eyes to meet the suspecting eyes of Naruto now reflecting the dying amber rays of the sunset. Her eyes narrowed.  
  
"You had no right to hurt his body like this."  
  
She said, and there was a sting to her usually soft voice. Nine-Tails uttered a threatening growl as his tails swished about when Hinata pushed her fingertips into the torn tissue; his hyper-sensitised skin quadrupled the pain. Hinata looked stressed as she bit onto the cuff of her left sleeve and pulled, tearing out a strip of cloth, and gently wrapped it around Naruto's hand. Sap and blood almost immediately soaked through, and Hinata murmured,  
  
"The chakra opening points are being over-used..."  
  
"Of course,"  
  
Nine-Tails scoffed, glad that the human had stopped touching him,  
  
"This body is leaking with my chakra. I am trying to control it, but control is slipping. The jounin has failed to retrieve the boy."  
  
Silence cascaded as Sasuke's eyes darkened, his hand slumping in Sakura's. Suddenly, an immensely threatening dark aura swept over them like icy fire, and yet another tail emerged, flicking to side to side as Nine-Tails leaned against the rocks behind him.  
  
"It is over,"  
  
He muttered,  
  
"This body will succumb to mine, and I will tear this body and myself apart. Thus ends the legend of Nine-Tails, the demon fox that could tear down mountains with a swish of its tail, and Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who wanted to become the Fifth Hokage - but failed by the inevitable fate of death."  
  
A gentle wind rustled leaves and turned over small stones on the ground as Sakura looked uncertainly from Naruto to Sasuke, wondering what this overwhelming tide of horror was.  
  
"D-don't even joke about things l-like that,"  
  
Sakura stammered. Sasuke refused to meet her gaze, and Nine-Tails simply looked slightly forlornly at her. The wind weaved through the trees, a haunting whistle filling the clearing. She dropped Sasuke's hand as she stood up abruptly.  
  
"You're kidding! Even if-- even if Sasuke-kun couldn't do retrieve him-- that would only be because--"  
  
"Because he was ashamed to see me."  
  
Sasuke interrupted, and Sakura stopped in mid-sentence as she saw the pain in Sasuke's eyes as he spoke.  
  
"He didn't want to see anyone, Sakura. He was too deeply wallowing in his own sorrow. I entered too late to stop him."  
  
Sakura stared at Sasuke, her bottom lip quivering slightly.  
  
"You mean to say,"  
  
She whispered,  
  
"That it's too late to save Naruto?"  
  
When Sasuke didn't say anything, Sakura narrowed her eyes at him quite suddenly.  
  
"Didn't Naruto teach you not to say anything as cowardly as that?!"  
  
He looked at her, startled, but she turned her eyes to Nine-Tails with a fierceness that arised when it came to protecting those dear to her.  
  
"I'll go call an anbu, then. The anbu can do it, right?"  
  
Nine-Tails snorted.  
  
"It is most likely they are too busy, and they will probably agree it is a lot less trouble to simply let a threat like Nine-Tails to self-destruct. You will also take too long in finding them."  
  
"Then any jounin, I'll go and--"  
  
"I am telling you, human, it will take too long to find anyone. This body cannot take the strain for much longer._ It is too late_."  
  
Sakura glared at the pessimism, and she said stoutly,  
  
"Fine. I will do it. Just do the seal again slowly and I'll do it."  
  
Nine-Tails looked almost amused at this proposal, when Sasuke stood up suddenly and fixed her with a piercing stare.  
  
"You can't go."  
  
"Sorry?"  
  
Sakura said, surprised at the intensity in Sasuke's voice, when he continued,  
  
"You can't do it. You haven't got the skill to, for one thing, and--"  
  
"I have better chakra control than you do!"  
  
Sakura spluttered, disbelieving Sasuke's sudden outburst, but he continued as he she hadn't said anything.  
  
"--you have poor stamina, and you won't be able to copy those seals precisely --"  
  
"Listen, Sasuke-kun, I don't care. I can do this. I _want_ to do this."  
  
Sasuke's eyes strained as he suddenly yelled,  
  
"You idiot!! Naruto is in severe pain -- it overwhelmed _me_, and you want to do this? You have never felt any loss like his, nor have you even experienced the pain of being controlled, of being manipulated -- _you have no idea what it's like,_ and you think you can help him?!!"  
  
Sakura's eyes blazed with shock and anger as she yelled back,  
  
"_YES!!!_"  
  
A sharp _slap_ fractured the air.  
  
Sakura's cheek stung and started to warm as blood rapidly gathered to aid the pain starting to tingle from his hand. He was breathing deeply, his own eyes looking just as shocked as hers.  
  
Without warning, another slap cracked the air, and Sasuke staggered slightly from the sheer strength Sakura's hand had just held. Her green eyes were bright with unshed tears as she said in a low voice,  
  
"I know I'm not as good a ninja as you or as a lot of other kunoichis. I know I lack the strength to do many things, and people are constantly helping me or rescuing me. I know that I haven't the experience or great pain or loss. But Sasuke-kun..."  
  
A tear trickled down a cheek as she went on,  
  
"Even so... I feel a great pain in me right now. There is a sense of betrayal from Naruto... I'm supposed to be a close friend of his, yet I was not told of the demon inside of him... yet I am angered at myself because I didn't realise he had a demon to bear with, and I am disappointed at myself for not understanding what pain and loneliness that must have caused him."  
  
She looked directly into Sasuke's eyes and her voice broke slightly as she continued,  
  
"A great fear fills me because I might lose one of my most idiotic but closest friends, and I am very, very despaired right now, especially because of you, Sasuke-kun! You're -- you're _ordering me_ to not even try to save my best friend -- you have no belief that I might just be able to revive Naruto -- not even a chance --"  
  
"Because you have no idea,"  
  
Sasuke interrupted in a quiet voice,  
  
"Of how badly hurt he is."  
  
She glared at Sasuke before turning to face Nine-Tails once more, wiping her eyes briefly with the back of her arm. Then she began to approach Nine-Tails, saying,  
  
"I'll do it. Just repeat the seal slowly and I'll do it. I memorised most of the seal the first time, anyways--"  
  
She stopped speaking from shock as she felt Sasuke's hands grasp her arms from behind. His forehead-protector pressed against the back of her neck as he murmured,  
  
"Sakura... don't."  
  
And she could feel it.  
  
He was scared. He was very, very scared she might return scarred and different; scared she wouldn't be the same, and she would lose what comforting familiarity she had... but worst of all, he was afraid of losing Sakura's mind ot Naruto's overwhelming sadness.  
  
He was angry, too. Angry that he couldn't do anything, and angry at himself for being so selfish - Sakura was Naruto's friend, too... yet...  
  
His grip on her arms tightened, and she could feel the sap from his fingertips wetting her skin. He murmured under his breath so quietly even Nine-Tail's hearing only just caught it:  
  
"_...Please._"  
  
Sakura visibly hesitated.  
  
"I want to try."  
  
The voice was so quiet it took the others several seconds to realise Hinata had spoken.  
  
"Hinata?"  
  
Sakura said, trying hard to keep her tone of disbelief out of her voice. Hinata had much better chakra control than both she and Sasuke, but her stamina was much, much less. It didn't help that her amount of chakra was a lot less than theirs.  
  
"I want to help Naruto-kun."  
  
Hinata said a little more loudly, fixing her eyes on Nine-Tails as she spoke. Sakura tried to shrug Sasuke's hands off, but they refused to move. She twisted slightly awkwardly to cast a nervous glance at him. Sasuke had just the lightest look of worry on his face.  
  
"Uhm, Hinata,"  
  
Sakura said, hoping her voice was more consoling than chiding,  
  
"You really ought to think about-- well, the jutsu requires--"  
  
"Okay,"  
  
Nine-Tails cut Sakura off as he agreed, fangs flashing from his grin. Sakura's jaw dropped open.  
  
"O-Okay?!"  
  
She echoed in disbelief, and Nine-Tails gave a dark laugh as he growled,  
  
"There isn't much choice. The jutsu requires psychological resolution. You, girl, are hesitant. Even if this dark-haired girl has less skill or power - even if there is a high possibility the boy may crumble at the sight of her and wipe both of their minds out - there is less risk, even with her, than there is with you. If there is no will, there is no way."  
  
Sakura's eyes rounded in shock and sadness, and Sasuke's grasp on her arms relaxed and pulled away. Hinata looked at her sympathetically; yet again, Sakura felt she could do nothing to help those nearest to her. Sasuke lifted his head from her neck, moving his lips to her ear.  
  
"You helped me,"  
  
Sasuke muttered quietly,  
  
"That's enough."  
  
Sakura turned to look at him in surprise as Hinata knelt before Naruto and lifted his shirt upwards. The seal appeared to be glowing blood-red as the spirals spun in crooked animation; obviously starting to unravel, but improperly.  
  
Another strong wave of terrifying aura pulsed through them, and Sakura gave a small shudder. Hinata looked resolutely at Nine-Tails as she imitated Sasuke and pressed her left palm against the seal. The sheer heat scalded her, and she winced as she felt her skin burn, but she pressed her index finger to the elephant seal and held up her other hand.  
  
Nine-Tails gave her a strange smile.  
  
"This is your last hope in saving the boy,"  
  
He said quietly, and Hinata nodded, but he continued,  
  
"He is in a very fragile state now. I advise you to be... careful."  
  
Hinata nodded again, her surprise at his unexpected concern evident on her features. Nine-Tails raised a hand and started to perform the Mind Entrance Jutsu. The seals ran a bit more slowly, but this seemed to cause more pain for Nine-Tails. Not wanting his effort to go to waste, Hinata followed with her right hand as precisely as she could. Her eyes couldn't help flickering to Naruto's palms however; she could see blood seeping through the cloth and running past his arm to drip onto the ground.  
  
Hinata almost stopped out of shock when another tail burst out, but eyeing it nervously for a second or so, she went back on track and continued the seal. Nine-Tails shut his eyes, and Hinata, realising this signified the completion of the jutsu followed suit, her hand forming the tiger seal with Nine-Tails'.  
  
"_Mind Entrance no Jutsu._"  
  
Nine-Tails muttered, and Hinata too felt the huge and icy hand thrusting deep into her mind and wrenching it out of her. Letting out an exclamation of shock and pain before her eyes slid out of focus, Hinata fell forwards to slump against Naruto's shoulder, her hand still fixed on his seal. Naruto held onto her wrist to ensure her staying there.  
  
Another tide of darkness overcame Sakura and Sasuke in chilly and frightening prickles up their spines. They did not show any reaction to this, however, surprising Nine-Tails.  
  
The two quietly walked over to her and sat down at either side of Hinata, casting her looks Nine-Tails failed to decipher, and then settled down to wait.  
  
  
  
  
  
"There it is again."  
  
He said suddenly, his brows furrowing in concern.  
  
"Something's wrong with this chakra. This isn't a controlled feeling at all."  
  
His companion agreed.  
  
"Is something wrong with Naruto? Do you-- do you think he lost control??"  
  
"I didn't think that was possible."  
  
"Neither did I. This is dangerous -- we should get--"  
  
"There's no time. It feels as though... he's on the verge of release."  
  
"So we should go ourselves?"  
  
"Better than leaving it as it is,"  
  
He replied, and the two jounins dashed towards the origin of the pulsating dark aura of Nine-Tails.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: O_O Will there be a grand finale by the next chapter? I don't know, but hey, this seems to be building up higher than I thought it would. O_O;; Maaaaaah. Thank you very much for you kind reviews. *bows*   
  



	9. Resolution

  
  


_"What's going on here?"_

  
  
'Dark. Dank. Silent.'  
  
Her immediate thoughts echoed back to her in her own nervous and inquisitive voice, and it took her a long time to realise that the piercing pain in her head had finally subsided, and that she appeared to be in a greyish chamber of some sort. She gave a sharp intake of breath as a small movement from her caused the icy water to slosh noisily around her, echoing off the damp walls.  
  
  


_"Ka-Kakashi-sensei! Iruka-sensei!"_

  
  
  
A sharp, stinging wind blasted past her, and she let out a small scream as the ice water soaked through her clothes, the temperature dropping lower. It grew so cold she could barely manage to shiver.  
  
'How on earth did Sasuke manage to go through this?'  
  
  


_"Wha--wha? Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto... no sign of any vigorous activity..."_

  
  
  
Then she heard him.  
  
**Go away.**  
  
His voice was bruised, insistent, cold. She closed her eyes, fighting back the shivers, breaking through the icy layers in his frosty tone.  
  
_He's hurt._  
  
  


_"Iruka-sensei, you have no idea, Naruto-- Nine-Tails, the demon fox in him, it's--"_

  
  
  
Straining every frozen and aching muscle in her body, Hinata lifted a numb leg out of the water and took a single step. A horrible chill ran through her spine.  
  
**Why are you coming closer?**  
  
Uncertainty, worry, confusion. She took another shuddering, painful step forward.  
  
  


_"Oh, God. Those aren't tails, are they?"_

  
  
  
'Because you are hurt. I'm going to remedy you.'  
  
The water swirled and crashed against her body, soaking her with a fierce cold, but as she shook the icy droplets out of her hair and her lashes, she saw a more worrying concern. Cracks were starting to splinter the walls, spreading spider-web lines across the greyness and crumbling pieces into the water.  
  


_"Well, if it isn't a bunch of jounins just a tad bit late. These are my tails, obviously. Seven of them, at the very least."_

  
  
_He's breaking apart...!_  
  
And Hinata ran. She ignored the icy stabs of knife-like pain in her legs, the prickle of pain creeping up her thighs. But she couldn't ignore his voice.  
  
**St-stop! Don't come near me!!**  
  
Urgency overflowed the befuddled anger. Her eyes skipped over a vast prison, a small paper seal flapping in the rippling wind from pulsating energy. Then she turned around, and saw him.  
  
Shrouded in shadow with only grey light illuminating cold eyes, he sat against a wall, frozen and almost statue-like. But he was staring at her in shock, his eyes widening. Then she saw something else entirely.  
  
_Fear._  
  
  


_"...What happened?"  
  
"Naruto-- he lost control-- we're performing the Mind Entrance Jutsu, trying to help him out--"  
  
"**What??** Kakashi, did you hear that?! They've performed a forbidden--"  
  
"I heard, I heard. This is bad. He's going out of control."  
_

  
  
"Naruto-kun."  
  
She called softly, her voice miraculously calm despite the throbbing in her legs and the indescribable cold clutching at her arms. A piercing siren nearly split her skull open as it screamed into her ears, and it was all she could do to not double over in pain, to lose control. A roaring wind ripped past her, water droplets stinging pin-pricks on her skin.  
  
  


_"Kakashi, what do we do?"  
  
"Stop the process of course. Look at the girl - she's bleeding."  
  
"Hinata..."  
  
"Step out of the way, Sasuke, Sakura. We're going to have to extract Hinata. This is much too dangerous-- I expected better judgement from you, Sasuke."_

  
  
She never lost eye-contact with him, however. And she walked to towards his direction, into his dark corridor, a determined look settling on her face. The siren grew higher in pitch as she watched his pupils contract.  
  
**Go away!!**  
  
He backed against the wall like a scared animal, his eyes furtively searching for an exit around her. Hinata winced as a sharp pain shot up her left foot, but continued to resist the pain, go against the wind gradient.  
  
"No."  
  
She said through gritted teeth.  
  
  


_"...No."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said, no. We're not moving out of the way. Sakura, you tell them."  
  
"Sasuke-kun...!"  
  
"This is no time for joking around!! This jutsu is forbidden for a reason! The fox took part, I presume?"_

  
  
  
His eyes widened as her foot touched a space three feet before him. His feet skid against the water, his eyes darting to her side as he pressed himself tightly into the shadows.  
  
**I don't want to-- just go, just-- I'll chase you out-- go, _GO_--**  
  
"Naruto-kun, _listen to yourself!_"  
  
Hinata burst out, her eyes welling with tears of anger,  
  
"Why are you denying help?!"  
  
  
_

"We're not moving. You're going to have to trust us on this one."  
  
"Sasuke, we don't care if you've been commemorated as one of the best ninjas in the **world**, just get the hell away--"  
  
"I SAID NO!!"

_  
  
  
The siren shuddered to a halt, the howling wind silencing as the waters stilled. He refused to meet her eyes, and as she reached towards him, he let out an animal-like yowl as he curled away from her touch.  
  
**Go away.**  
  
Still resolute, still scared. Hinata retracted her hand, then closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to calm herself.  
  
  
_

"Sasuke-kun... Naruto's strange..."  
  
"What? Why--"  
  
"His heat is fading suddenly... he's growing cold..."

_  
  
  
Cracks were silently spreading on the walls and deepening.  
  
"Naruto-kun."  
  
She willed her voice be steady, to stop shaking from the cold, from her fear.  
  
"I... I came here because..."  
  
**I don't want to know. Go away.**  
  
She looked at him, faltering at the coldness in his voice, in his hunched shoulders.  
  
_Shielding himself from me._  
  
  
_

"The boy... the girl found the boy."  
  
"...What's happening?"

_  
  
  
She knelt down slowly, sinking her clothes into the water and shuddering as ice-cold prickles spread through her skin. He still refused to look at her despite her attempt to grow closer to his level, and on the contrary seemed to shrink further into himself. Hinata gathered up her courage and spoke from the depths of her mind, of her heart.  
  
"I came, Naruto-kun, because I want you to wake up. Because I think you're worth everything... because I think you're worth risking my life for. Because I acknowledge you."  
  
  


_ "Kakashi, what are you doing?! Let go of me! I can't stand to watch what's happening to Naruto--"  
  
"I think this is one of those situations where the kids are right. Let's stay still for a moment."  
  
"...."  
  
"The girl... she has managed to reach him...."_

  
  
  
_Because I acknowledge you._  
  
He looked at the water, not meeting her intense gaze.  
  
"It's been a very long time since I have. You've acknowledged yourself to me - not just your strength or your skill, but _you yourself_. I..."  
  
She swallowed as she felt a lump of pain build in her throat, but continued on earnestly,  
  
"I... was hoping you might forgive me for ignoring what you've proven. I nearly... I nearly left you, Naruto-kun. I very nearly did. But while I was walking... I realised-- finally realised it - that I'm a fool to not believe in you."  
  
She shut her lids tightly causing unshed tears to spill past warmly against her icy skin. She opened her mouth to tell him it wasn't his fault, but knowing already that sentence would do no good, something else tumbled out.  
  
"It's not the fact that you..."  
  
She had great difficulty trying to grapple past disturbing images, the turmoil of confusion and hurt on the brink of exploding in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know he could see it too.   
  
  


_"...Ouch."  
  
"What is it? Is Hinata hurt?!"  
  
"...No... it's nothing."_

  
  
  
"It's... not the fact that you tried to rape me that matters."  
  
Opening her eyes, she looked at him as she said,  
  
"It's the fact that you _DIDN'T_. Please... forgive me, Naruto, for not believing you."  
  
He didn't meet her gaze, his eyes rigidly fixated on his knee, but something seemed different in the atmosphere.  
  
_Less pressure._  
  
But as she opened her mouth to speak, his voice rebounded against the walls sounding stiff and cool.  
  
**There is nothing to forgive.**  
  
"Naruto-kun,"  
  
Hinata blurted out, her voice taking just the edge of frustration,  
  
"Please try to understand! I acknowledge you because you have so much of what I don't have. You have confidence, belief - so much belief - in yourself, and I know... I know how it is to do that. But look at yourself now!"  
  
She felt hot tears gather again, blurring her vision of the boy cowering away from her, obscuring the icy droplets dripping off straggly, pale-yellow strands of hair, skin drained and grey and warm blue eyes now frosty and hard.  
  
"You-- you have never hated yourself before! Why...?"  
  
Then he looked at her for just a split second before looking away. It was only a small moment, but Hinata realised what it was immediately. Because the moment his eyes had met hers, he projected an image to her. The turmoil of hurt and confusion plunged back into her and nearly made her lurch; the bruises on her arms burned quite suddenly, and Hinata let out a cry of pain that was both physical and mental.  
  
"Is-- is that it?"  
  
She asked shakily. He did not respond, and she noticed the cracks on the wall had reached the ceiling. Small bits of wall fell with tiny splashes into the water. Hinata felt fear claw at her heart as she felt urgency rise in her.  
  
_He's losing his mind._  
  
  


_"Sakura, what's wrong?!"  
  
"A-a-another tail!"  
  
"And his ears...! Kakashi, let **go** of me!!"  
  
"Try to understand, Iruka, that grown-ups do tend to make things worse."  
  
"Damn it, Hinata...! Hurry...!!"_

  
  
  
"Naruto-kun-- you're-- you're not hiding because you were ashamed of not being able to control yourself...? You're hiding because of... because you... hurt me?"  
  
The air grew colder, and Hinata had to blink suddenly because the walls seemed to distort out of her vision. She brought her eyes to Naruto, desperacy in her reaching her voice.  
  
  


_"She's bleeding again...!"_

  
  
  
"I'm... I'm not worth that."  
  
Naruto didn't reply.  
  
"Listen to me, Naruto-kun. I'm not worth your life. No one is. I--"  
  
**But... you're someone precious to me.**  
  
Hinata flushed quite suddenly, heat rushing to her hands and her face at the words.  
  
_Someone precious to him...!_  
  
Her hands clamped together tightly, almost as if in prayer, and Hinata looked at him as she whispered,  
  
"Precious people to protect are there to protect you, too. They don't become your downfall."  
  
Cracks were spreading on the ceiling as easily as ink on paper, and Hinata found herself pleading, yearning.  
  
"You are someone I admire greatly because... because you have such inner-strength. Because you can stand up once more, even if you have tripped, and still progress. Naruto-kun..."  
  
Bits of ceilings fell onto the two and splashed into the water loudly. A droning hum seemed to vibrate beneath the water, rippling the once-still surface into current.  
  
"_Look at yourself._ Your inner-strength is failing you. Yes; perhaps you have failed to keep in control, but I know... I know that even though if you fell into Nine-Tails' trap... Even though you nearly hurt someone precious to you... I know you will learn from it and pick yourself up again. Because I believe in you, Naruto-kun."  
  
She took a deep breath, and looked squarely at Naruto's eyes, even though he didn't look back at her.  
  
"You _didn't_ hurt me. And I think... that may be what matters most."  
  
  


_"She's shaking so badly! What should we do?!"  
  
"....."_

  
  
  
Nervously trying her best to ignore the groans of the shuddering walls, the increasing ramrodding of icy current against her back and the strange dips of distortion the wall kept taking, Hinata said resolutely,  
  
"I am waiting for you."  
  
And he lifted his eyes to meet hers. She saw it again, just like she had when he tore out of his home after Sasuke and Sakura had entered.  
  
Raw pain.  
  
A pain accumulated after years and years of confusion and misunderstood hatred directed to himself. A pain that fed on his darkest fear of loneliness and betrayal. He took a deep, shuddering breath and did not project his thoughts to her but spoke out in a distinctly wavery voice.  
  
"I d-don't deserve to be f-forgiven."  
  
"I don't care."  
  
Hinata said gently, and held a hand out, a small smile curving her lips.  
  
"Let's go back."  
  
He looked at her, scared, confusion glinting at her from the shadows. Then his face crumpled as he let out a howl of angered questioning, and facing away from her sweet smile he gripped himself tightly.  
  
  


_"She's grown colder..."  
  
"...Let's share our chakra with her, Sakura."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Iruka, shut up."  
  
"The hell--?!!"  
  
"You do know how to, right?"  
  
"O-of course, Sasuke-kun."_

  
  
  
"I'm sorry, Hinata,"  
  
He said, his voice on the verge of breaking,  
  
"I'm sorry for everything. I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."  
  
  


_"It's too late. Don't bother, humans. It's far too late."  
  
"As Naruto would say... it's never too late. Our hands on hers?"_

  
  
  
The walls were crumbling, the ceiling dangerously looming back and forth in twisted perspective as the water swirled and crashed into the other in aimless tides. The air grew freezing, dropping lower, lower... darkness was starting to impend upon the scene, and Hinata's eyes rounded in fear and panic as the cold and darkness started to envelope her mind, her senses--  
  
  


_ "That should do it... now, concentrate..."_

  
  
  
Then she felt it. A warmth was starting to spread from her hands to the rest of her body, lukewarm at first but slowly increasing to an intense heat and strength. Hinata blinked, the water no longer capturing her muscles. She returned to her self fully, wondering what was going on, and cast her eyes to Naruto.  
  
She let out a gasp of shock as she saw Naruto suddenly flicker out of sight and back again, his breathing highly irregular as he seemed to be gasping for air.  
  
  


_"It's over."_

  
  
  
Strengthened by the unexplained heat, Hinata grabbed Naruto's crouched form with her hands, not knowing what else to do as she found herself begging,  
  
"Don't do this!! Please-- Naruto-kun--"  
  
She could feel hot tears streaming past her face as she pressed her cheek to Naruto's, embracing his cold and huddled form with all the warmth she had. His skin was colder than marble. She held him tightly, crying harder as she felt his body grow slack in her grip.  
  
  
_

"You can't do anything about it."

_  
  
  
The strength of this boy had disappeared because of her. Because his strength came from protecting others, and now he himself had hurt one he protected. She felt his pain, his hatred and his anger at himself. This was the boy who would brag about his existence, declaring himself to be the coolest and the strongest. Who would boast and rattle on about himself, his confidence in himself evident and strengthening.  
  
  
_

"He's about to be swallowed by his own mind."

_  
  
  
This was someone who had cared about her and for her, who understood who she was and acknowledged her inner-strength. Who came to her house on weekends to joke around and take walks with her, argue with her plants when they looked wilted and dragged her off to ramen stands. A boy who had an amazing grin and devotion to protecting others.  
  
  
_

"Sakura, don't listen to him. No matter what, **don't let go** of Hinata's hand."  
  
"....Sasuke-kun...!"

_  
  
  
He was going to die because he had hurt her.  
  
The realisation of this hit her as the floor began to rumble and break, water seeping out as the ceiling began to fall apart. She let out a cry of agony.  
  
"You can't do this!! I can't let you do this!! You mean-- you mean too much-- Naruto-kun, I don't hate you, I don't--"  
  
She felt a strong pulsation of heat resonate from Naruto himself. The stony-grey of his skin faded back into healthiness for a moment, and his rigid form just the slightest of moves.  
  
"...You... don't...?"  
  
Hinata felt his voice croak shakily against her ear, his breath cold. She hugged him tightly as she whispered,  
  
"I don't. I really d-don't. I-I c-couldn't. Because Naruto-k-kun, I--"  
  
  
_

"It's useless."

_  
  
  
The ceiling finally burst at its seams and the room began to collapse, the noise of crashing and breaking drowning out the rest of Hinata's words. But he had heard all he had needed to hear. As the place began to fall apart, he finally understood and accepted it.   
  
He reached out and grabbed onto Hinata tightly. Her eyes shot open as she felt his cold hands hold onto her jumper. As he held her, her heat spread from her skin and clothes to his, a comforting warmth filling him as he gripped onto her.  
  
  
_

"No-- wait, Naruto's--!!"

_  
  
  
He called out her name, gasping in surprise, and she felt her eyes fill with new tears.  
  
Then, without warning, they blacked out.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
When she came to, nothing seemed right. For one thing, she couldn't see anything. Then she realised her eyes were closed, and she wasn't able to open them because they were mushed against something else...  
  
She unstuck herself from what was there, and realised she had been embedded into Naruto.  
  
_Naruto...?_  
  
Her jaw dropped open. What happened?! She looked around wildly, a thick screen of smoke and dust obscuring her vision, and coudl just make out the fallen forms of Sasuke and Sakura nearby, and two other adults somewhere farther.  
  
_...? Did he send a shockwave of some sort...?_  
  
Confused and scared, Hinata leaned over to take a look at the blonde. He didn't seem to be breathing.  
  
"Naruto-kun...?"  
  
She whispered, her voice trembling. He gave a sudden jolt before opening his eyes groggily.  
  
"Huh? Whaa...?"  
  
He sat up slowly, blinking and squinting at Hinata leaning on top of him.  
  
"Hinata?"  
  
He said in surprise. His bright eyes, look of innocence and confusion and just simply his good-natured aura told Hinata everything she wanted to know. With a grateful sob, she leaned over and kissed his lips lightly. He froze in shock as she then fell onto his chest, hugging him tightly and soaking his clothes with her tears. And as memories slowly filtered back to register in his mind, as the dust settled and the fallen forms slowly started to rise, Naruto slowly took his own arms to hold her himself.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oww!!! Yeah right this doesn't hurt a bit!!"  
  
Naruto tried to twist out of Iruka's grip, but the jounin held him down firmly, snapping,  
  
"Stay still you idiot!!"  
  
Kakashi finally completed his seal, and Naruto's eyes widened as he felt all the loose threads in him tighten, the ends snipped off neatly. The silver-haired ninja clapped his hands together, nodding in approval at his own handiwork.  
  
"Great. This seal will keep you fine."  
  
"You suuuure?"  
  
Naruto asked, looking at Kakashi with a suspicious glint in his eyes.  
  
"It all depends on your will-power, Naruto."  
  
Naruto pulled on his jacket looking rather thoughful, but he didn't say anything. Sasuke walked up, looking at Naruto with a weird look in his expression.  
  
"Is the idiot okay now?"  
  
He asked. Naruto felt his fist tighten and a vein bulge at the word 'idiot' as Kakashi nodded. Sasuke gave a satisfied sort of smile, nodding, before turning around and punching Naruto's across the jaw.  
  
Reeling at the unexpected punch, Naruto found himself blinking stars out of his eyes as he glared angrily at the black-haired jounin.  
  
"What was that for?!"  
  
He snapped. Sasuke rolled his eyes, not saying anything, but gave him the weird look again before walking off towards the path. Understanding what Sasuke had meant to say, Naruto smiled a little.  
  
Sakura, who had been treating Hinata's wounds, saw Sasuke heading towards the village. Hastily tying the ends of the bandage around Hinata's wrist, she quickly stood up. Naruto, who had been expecting Sakura to run off chasing his rival was surprised to see Sakura bound towards himself.  
  
"Wha--?"  
  
"You _IDIOT!!_"  
  
Sakura yelled, her voice blaring over him and making him wince,  
  
"I _swear_ I've never met anyone stupider! Idiot idiot idiot!!"  
  
Naruto thought that this was going just a bit over the line when he was surprised to feel the kunoichi hug him quickly around the waist. He blinked, and she gave him a final glare before going off to run after Sasuke.  
  
Confused, Naruto scratched his head.  
  
"Hey, Naruto,"  
  
Iruka said, interrupting his very confused thoughts,  
  
"Let's go for ramen, eh?"  
  
Naruto's eyes sparkled as his stomach growled. The sky was dark and stars were beginning to twinkle overhead by now, and Naruto realised he was absolutely _starving_. He had had nothing to eat since that morning.  
  
Then Kakashi stepped in and grabbed Iruka around the neck.  
  
"Actually, we've got something else to do. See you,"  
  
Kakashi said, waving, and amidst Iruka's yelp of surprise the two jounins disappeared with a puff of smoke. Naruto's shoulders sagged. So much for ramen with company...  
  
... Wait a minute...  
  
He turned around to see Hinata looking at him. She let out an 'eep' as his eyes met hers and she quickly looked away. Naruto didn't know what to think. Truth be told, his memory was very blurred as to what had happened throughout the duration in his mind. But he was certain about one thing that had happened...  
  
"Hinata! Let's go eat ramen!"  
  
He said cheerfully with a big grin. She looked surprised, but a pleasant shade of pink filled her cheeks as she smiled.  
  
"Okay."  
  
They set off towards the forest trail towards the village, following the shifts in the leaves made by Sasuke and Sakura previously. The only sound disturbing the peace and quiet as the two walked along the trail was the rustling of leaves and the humming of insects.  
  
The blonde looked upwards, watching the stars appear in clusters in the darkening velvet sky, and sighed. He could sense her looking at him, but when he glanced at her she was looking at her sandals.  
  
"Hey... Hinata."  
  
"Uhm, yes? I mean-- yeah?"  
  
"Why are you so nervous?"  
  
She blinked, feeling herself grow pink.  
  
"I'm not. I'm really not."  
  
She started, then stopped herself before she could go blabbering on and embarrass herself. She was surprised out of her wits as Naruto laughed and admitted,  
  
"I am."  
  
"Eh? Why?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
He turned and smiled at her in a helpless sense.  
  
"Ever since I really got to know you, it's been this way."  
  
"...Eep."  
  
She squeaked. He looked at her, surprised, and burst out laughing at the tomato-like quality her face had taken to.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Uh, it's just... uhm... I guess I'm just really surprised."  
  
She said in a highly unnatural voice, cursing it as it came. She was surprised to see Naruto grow very serious as he said,  
  
"I was really surprised, too."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"When you came into my head."  
  
He looked at the ground, sifting through and collecting his thoughts as he spoke.  
  
"I was really surprised. But, like before, you pulled me out of an uncharacteristically depressed mood! So I feel great!"  
  
He stretched out his arms as they walked, and Hinata gave a shy smile.  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
She said quietly. Naruto smiled happily in return.  
  
It was as he started to chatter about the next chuunin exams and what he was planning when he let his arms down, and his wrist brushed lightly against Hinata's.  
  
He stopped talking as they blinked, both turning to look at their skin contact in surprise. Their eyes met, and both found themselves suddenly feeling shy. Naruto resumed talk once more, the two continuuing to walk. Naruto felt an entirely new and different sort of heat creep up his neck to flush his face as the skin where the Hinata's hand had touched his own tingled.   
  
Their hands touched again. Without looking at one another, they let their fingers intwine with the other's to lock in a warm hold and gently swing back and forth as they continued down the trail.  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**OWARI...** if you want it to be. ^_^

  
  



End file.
